Set your story during — or just before — a storm.

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 31, 2025

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✍️ 144 stories

“Unveiled ” by Rachel Liddell

Submitted to Contest #288

“The sky has caught up, Baba.” Adonis muttered. The words shook a little in his throat as he tried to choke down a lump and hold back his tears. His father, not even taking a second to glance over his shoulder , just kept rowing the caique as fast as his sore arms would pump. The light skiff skimmed quickly over the ocean’s surface. The only sound came from his father’s grunts and the oars slap...

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“A Stormy Night in Seaside Bay” by Mychal Brackens

Submitted to Contest #288

To begin, one would have to be introduced to Seaside Bay first before becoming acquainted with the city itself prior to meeting the residents of this South Florida hamlet. SB (as the town is referred to affectionately by its inhabitants) is roughly 75 miles from Miami and was first settled back in the year 1704 by English settlers. Flash forward to the present day, Seaside Bay is a resort town where several billionaires reside. Several of the individuals who live here are extraordinarily wealthy and that is where our story begins. Kate Montc...

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“Acuweather” by Riley Noel

Submitted to Contest #288

"How are you feeling today?""We've got another storm on the way, I'd wrap up if I were you.""Really?" exclaimed Murr looking around. “There's not a cloud in sight.”"I feel it, Murr," Ansel slapped his knee. "This dang arthritis has never steered me wrong. I feel a big one on the way.""Well if you're sure Ansel, I'm going get a move on. Thanks for the warning." Murr pulled out a stack of envelopes and a small package from his mail bag and handed them over."Thanks," Ansel began flipping through his letters."No problem. I hate to be nosey, but ...

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“Sprouts of Grace ” by Amy Dear

Submitted to Contest #288

Story includes themes of child loss that may be triggering.Helen skimmed her fingers over the pastel knitted blanket draped over the dark cherry wood cradle. If she inhaled deep enough, she swore she could pick up on the faint lingering scent of baby powder. Logically, she knew too much time had passed for that to be true, but it made the sinking feeling in her chest a little lighter from pretending. The floorboards creaked behind her, but she didn't bother turning around. She could already see the pity written across her husband's face. It ...

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“Delaying the Storm ” by Logan Cross

Submitted to Contest #288

Lightning cracks across the midnight sky, illuminating Oliver’s profile against the window. “I don’t know what you want me to say,” he says, his voice so low it disappears against the din of the falling rain. “I don’t need you to say anything,” Nicola replies, sliding the thick, manila envelope to his side of the glass table. “I just need you to sign the papers.” The lights had gone out just a few minutes after the storm had started that afternoon, drowning their quaint, Upper West Side apartment in complete darkness. Once the cand...

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“A storm named after her” by Stephi Smith

Submitted to Contest #288

From heaven, she sent lightning to a small town. From heaven, she watched her people scatter.She was angry with them. A fat, silver-haired man wailed from his porch and she laughed - her kindergarten teacher. The market woman with the kind face and dulcet voice wept as her cribs burned. Charlotte poked at shame but the moment passed. She lit a church on fire, watched the devout burn from their knees up. Don’t feel bad because she didn’t. Of course they wronged her — had you guessed already? — accused her of sin, called her a dog, fed he...

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“The Last Laugh” by Ruby Carmody

Submitted to Contest #288

The Last Laugh Sophia told herself to remember it. Distill it, cast it in amber to trace tomorrow. She’d want to be back here, in the prologue, the calm before the storm and her clothes still dry - there’d be tears in the morning. So she remembered. The crackle in her car speakers, the tinkle of her keys against her thigh. The sky glowering, fervour thick in the air, electric, just waiting for him to touch her before it sparked. The steering wheel smooth as it rolled through her grip, turning her onto Blackmore Street and into the speckled g...

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“Eternity and an Empty Box” by H.D. Mauser

Submitted to Contest #288

Pack the most important parts of your twenty-six years into this two-feet-by-one-foot-by-one-foot box. Clothes? No, we’ll provide you with all the essentials. Pillow, razor, all that. Pack anything personal you want to bring along, maybe something to keep you entertained on the trip. No combustibles, firearms, or compressed gases, nothing with a lithium or graphene cells, et cetera. Here’s your trunk - number seventy-two. You’d best remember that for the trip, everyone’s looks the same. Take care Mr. Thompson, don’t be late for check-in.&nbs...

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“The comforts of home” by Caz Bentham

Submitted to Contest #288

The perfect storm settled around us in layers. One by one. Until there was nothing but us. Each other. His hazel eyes. My sleepy smile. Two hearts, one whole. The first layer was the delicate snowflakes floating down, sparkling. My call into the night air brought our calico friend trotting in through the back door. She twists and winds round my leaden legs. Her ginger and black and white fur crimped by moisture, whiskers twinkling as if festooned with fairy lights. As she disappears to take up her station looking hopeful by an empty bowl, I...

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“You always make things better” by Avery Sparks

Submitted to Contest #288

Honestly, what is the point of an umbrella? thought Lena, as she grabbed at hers, threatening to blow inside out. As she raised her arm, raindrops raced gleefully down her sleeve before immediately soaking into her shirt. The wind surged against her, not only flipping the umbrella frame, but breaking and collapsing it. The canopy detached and flew down a side street. Lena growled but chased after it regardless.She should have left work before the storm hit, but when Charlotte had come to her desk and said that since it was a rare day th...

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“Calm Before the Storm” by Paige Chatry

Submitted to Contest #288

As night approaches, the grasshoppers chirp defiantly against the silence. A storm is brewing—a familiar event in these parts. Moisture saturates the air as clouds churn from whites to grays. The wind begins to howl, sweeping across the prairie.My chair creaks as I rock to the rhythm of the rustling suncatchers. I’ve always loved storms, especially in the open, where they bare their teeth, nothing taming them. The smell, though, is strange. It’s not that of rain but of smoke, thick and treacherous. Birds fill the sky, fleeing quickly in anti...

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“Storm Harvest” by Nicholas Leacock

Submitted to Contest #288

I was crouched on all fours. Forced to. My hands pressed against the cold, flat limestone ground that represented a perfect microcosm of the entire barren island. All my senses were piqued as I tried to figure out if the gale was done or if it was gearing up for another assault. It had scooped me off my feet and dropped me within three metres of the cliff edge. Mid-air, fear hit me with the cold belief that death was a certainty. A warning? Or was that the extent of its capability? I listened for variations in the howling and whistling, gaug...

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“Indiscreet Flirtation” by Ronald Laurent

Submitted to Contest #288

Indiscreet Flirtation Savannah Georgia is legendary; it was one of the only towns left standing after Sherman’s famous “March to the Sea.” The chamber of Commerce romantically describes it as a charming Southern escape where art, period architecture, trendy boutiques and haunted stories are all set under a veil of Spanish moss.It was there that my younger sister Melanie had purchased a restored plantation home with sixty acres on the east side of the Flint River...

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“Unconventional Healing” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #288

Prompt: Set your story during-or just before-a storm Unconventional Healing “Rain, rain go away. Come back some other day,” I murmured to myself. I recited the childhood rhyme using it as an amulet that would ward off the threatening clouds hovering above me. The ominous black skies evoked a warning inside me as I whispered “red in the morning, sailors take warning.” Today would be a day filled with tumultuous weather. The plump clouds had just begun to dribble their wetness upon me. Without warning more dark c...

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“(It's Hard to See) Beyond the Rain” by Jarrel Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #288

tw: violent and graphic imageryHe thinks I’m asleep as he sneaks about the house. He forgets I can’t sleep through storms. I imagine the sky yelling at me over something I didn’t know I did. I never learned the sky’s language no matter how much weather channel I watch, but if I did I’d apologize to it for whatever I’ve done to make it rage.I stopped apologizing to him, however. A long time ago. He doesn’t care. I can hear the thumps from his footsteps and the snickers overflowing from his throat. I imagine his wide eyes and Cheshire smi...

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Set your story during — or just before — a storm.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 144 stories

“Unveiled ” by Rachel Liddell

“A Stormy Night in Seaside Bay” by Mychal Brackens

“Acuweather” by Riley Noel

“Sprouts of Grace ” by Amy Dear

“Delaying the Storm ” by Logan Cross

“A storm named after her” by Stephi Smith

“The Last Laugh” by Ruby Carmody

“Eternity and an Empty Box” by H.D. Mauser

“The comforts of home” by Caz Bentham

“You always make things better” by Avery Sparks

“Calm Before the Storm” by Paige Chatry

“Storm Harvest” by Nicholas Leacock

“Indiscreet Flirtation” by Ronald Laurent

“Unconventional Healing” by Pete Gautchier

“(It's Hard to See) Beyond the Rain” by Jarrel Jefferson

🌟 Similar prompts

Start or end your story with a breeze brushing against someone’s skin.

Write a story where the weather mirrors a character’s emotions.

Start or end your story with someone standing in the rain.

Set your story in a place where the weather never changes.

Contest #288

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

416

Contest entries

164

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: