When you get to a page in a book that describes the weather, do you yawn? It doesn't have to be that way! The weather--rainy, sunny, stormy, cold, hot, dry--can be a great backdrop to your story. The weather can reflect the way your characters feel, or just the opposite. Your character may be in a sunny mood, and not even a rain squall can dampen that.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is all about the weather. The story is set in the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Depression. The dryness almost lifts off the page.
In As Long As There Are Mountains by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, set in Vermont, Iris describes the rain: "The trees dripped rain, shrouded in fog, and seemed as pale and lifeless as ghosts, but they weren't lifeless at all. Their energy was stored deep inside to weather the cold winter." That could describe Iris herself.
A picture book can convey weather, too. Here's the first page of George Shannon's Rabbit's Gift: "Rabbit twitched his nose in the cold, damp air. Time to find food. More snow was coming. Coming soon." Even if you're reading that in spring, don't you want to cuddle up under a warm blanket?
Whether (ha-ha) you're writing about wet weather, dry weather, cold weather, or hot weather, you have an opportunity to convey mood.
Try writing a paragraph about weather. Describe a storm, a blizzard, a thunderstorm, or a heat wave. Think about how you have experienced those weather events. Now think about a character who experiences hail on his face, sleet under his collar, or snow in her boots.
Makes you want to cuddle up under a warm blanket, doesn't it?
