Are you “Only Happy When it Rains,” or do you “Shelter From the Storm?”

The weather has been the inspiration for many songs over the decades, from “You Are My Sunshine” to “Purple Rain” to "Rain on Me."

What You Need To Know

  • The weather has inspired many songs through the decades

  • See our list of favorites below

There are so many good ones spanning different music genres.

My favorite song featuring the weather is “Winter” by Tori Amos. Yes, it mentions snow and cold and mittens, but when you listen to the lyrics, it’s about so much more. I also love listening to Taylor Swift singing “Clean” and Rihanna belting out “Umbrella.”

Listen closely. The weather is not always the literal meaning, of course. It can describe happiness or sadness, love or pain.

“Singin’ in the Rain,” “Beautiful Day,” “Rainbow,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” and “It’s Raining Men”…well, I could go on and on.

The first time I heard the song, “Thunder,” I thought, who says the word “thunder” more times in just a few minutes? A Florida meteorologist or Imagine Dragons? (If you ask me, it depends on the season.)

So, I asked my fellow meteorologists here to tell me their favorite songs about the weather. You can see our list below.

Let us know your favorites. What do you have on repeat in your house? Is it “Here Comes the Rain Again” or “Here Comes the Sun?"

Brian McClure:

  • Thunderstruck – AC/DC
  • The Thunder Rolls – Garth Brooks
  • Electrical Storm – U2
  • Have You Ever Seen The Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • Rock You Like A Hurricane – Scorpions
  • Heatwave – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
  • Fool In The Rain – Led Zeppelin
  • I Can See Clearly Now - Jimmy Cliff
  • Wild Is The Wind – Bon Jovi

Mike Clay:

  • Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain – Willie Nelson
  • If We Make It Through December- Merle Haggard
  • Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • Night Moves – Bob Seger
  • Texas Flood – Stevie Ray Vaughan
  • The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – Gordon Lightfoot
  • Kentucky Rain – Elvis
  • Hurricane – Luke Combs​
  • Who’ll Stop The Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • Corpus Christi Wind- Terry McBride

Diane Kacmarik:

  • Red Rain - Peter Gabriel
  • Rock You Like a Hurricane – The Scorpions
  • Red Skies at Night - The Fixx

Nick Merianos:

  • Storm Warning – Hunter Hays
  • The Thunder Rolls- Garth Brooks
  • My Girl - The Temptations
  • It’s Raining Men – The Weather Girls
  • Thunder – Imagine Dragons
  • Let it Snow, Let it Snow – Dean Martin

Josh Linker:

  • November Rain - Guns N' Roses
  • No Rain – Blind Melon
  • Riders on the Storm - The Doors

Juli Marquez:

  • Winter - Tori Amos
  • Clean – Taylor Swift
  • Thunder – Imagine Dragons
  • Umbrella – Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
  • Day for Night – Matthew Sweet
  • 1,000 Oceans – Tori Amos
  • Candle in the Wind – Elton John