I don’t know how it was
where you are, but in Los Angeles all anyone talked about this week was the
weather: Heavy rain in town! Mudslides in the foothills! Snow in the mountains!
And back East: Snow! Snow! Snow! My cousin Sally (the free lance editor who
some of you have worked with) is busy shoveling snow off the roof of her house
and barn in Maryland. She took the picture above and below.

What does this have to do
with writing? Weather belongs in your stories – fiction or non-fiction – let us
know what’s happening outside the window. 
Let the reader know if you or your characters are hot or cold, trying to
stay dry in the rain or attempting to cool off in the heat.  Is the wind blowing and rattling things
on the roof? Has the fog moved in and silenced the landscape? Has a Santa Ana
made the doorknobs crack with electricity? Is the dampness turning to mold in
the closets?  Weather is another
door into your story.