Hurricanes and Gales
Gales and hurricanes are different kinds of weather description. On the Beaufort scale, force 8 is a gale, with winds of 34–40 knots. Force 12 describes hurricane-force winds of at least 64 knots; that wind-strength label does not by itself identify a tropical hurricane.[1]
A hurricane is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of at least 64 knots (74 mph), using the National Hurricane Center's classification. Other regions use names such as typhoon for comparable tropical cyclones.[2]
In figurative language, wind and storms can foreground force, instability, exposure or something that passes. A metaphorical storm does not need to be assigned a meteorological category.
Idioms
Here are some idioms about hurricanes and gales:
- Weather the storm - to endure a difficult or challenging situation, like a ship sailing through rough seas during a gale
- Blow over - to pass or end, like a storm or gale subsiding
- Raining cats and dogs - heavy rain or precipitation, like the torrential rains that often accompany hurricanes and gales
- Dark clouds on the horizon - a sign of trouble or difficulty approaching, like the ominous clouds that often precede a hurricane or gale
- Headwinds - obstacles or difficulties that must be overcome, like the opposing winds that slow down a ship during a gale
- Batten down the hatches - to prepare for a difficult or challenging situation, like a ship preparing for a storm or hurricane
- Riding out the storm - to wait patiently for a difficult situation to pass, like a person sheltering from a hurricane or gale
- A perfect storm - a combination of events that leads to a particularly difficult or challenging situation, like the convergence of weather systems that can cause a hurricane to intensify
- Stormy relationship - a relationship that is marked by conflict or difficulty, like the turbulent winds of a hurricane or gale.
These idioms use the metaphorical power of hurricanes and gales to describe situations that may be challenging, difficult, or unpredictable.
Literary Examples
Shakespeare's The Tempest opens with a ship in a storm. The boatswain's attempts to do his work collide with the demands of high-status passengers. This provides a concrete scene for comparing natural danger with the authority people try to exercise over one another.[3]
A storm can also be read in relation to a character's turmoil, but that is an interpretation to be supported by the particular work. Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea should not be summarised as Santiago fighting the marlin during a violent storm.
Religion
Jonah 1 describes a storm during the voyage of a prophet fleeing his commission. The sailors try to identify its cause and eventually throw Jonah overboard, after which the sea becomes calm. This is a narrative of actions, danger and responsibility; the passage does not classify the storm as a tropical hurricane.[4]
Matthew 8:23–27 describes Jesus calming a storm while his disciples fear for their lives. A reading about danger and trust can attend to the different responses aboard the boat. Extending the storm into an image of life's difficulties is a later interpretive comparison.[5]
Related pages
Sources
- ↑ Met Office, Beaufort wind force scale. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ NOAA National Hurricane Center, Glossary of NHC Terms. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 1, scene 1, Folger Shakespeare Library. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Jonah 1, NABRE, USCCB. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Matthew 8:23–27, King James Version, Bible Gateway. Accessed 9 October 2026.