Three suggestions for supernatural weather

Lightning! Thunder! Tornado! A lovely sunny day! The weather isn’t always dramatic, but it’s always in the background. One of the best ways to present a world that feels dynamic is simply to describe the current weather. After all, by tomorrow it’ll be different. See? Dynamic!

The weather is an excellent tool in creating atmosphere (hehe). A storm can be presented as energetic and threatening even if the adventure happens inside a castle. A thick fog creates an atmosphere of concern and uncertainty. A quiet, pleasant day keeps the players at ease, so the NPC’s betrayal comes as a surprise.

Beyond that, the weather can also be used to note the passage of time, especially on long voyages. Changing weather makes for a good montage, but even one day’s travel can gain some gravitas with a description of the ever-present humidity and heavy heat.

The real world has more than enough examples of strange weather phenomena, but here we’ll focus on supernatural ones. Supernatural weather may be endemic to specific parts of the continent (like the various climate zones in the real world), or it might be still more narrowly local, perhaps because of a supernatural presence or an old curse.

Include game effects for 5e.