A concentrated outpouring, as of missiles, words, or blows

• volley

  1. A simultaneous discharge of a number of bullets or other projectiles.
  2. The bullets or projectiles so discharged.
  3. A group of remarks, expressions, or actions directed toward a certain recipient or audience:

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• shower

  1. A brief fall of precipitation, such as rain, hail, or sleet.
  2. A fall of a group of objects, especially from the sky:
  3. An abundant flow; an outpouring:

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• salvo

  1. A simultaneous discharge of firearms.
  2. The simultaneous release of a rack of bombs from an aircraft.
  3. The projectiles or bombs thus released.

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• hail

  1. Precipitation in the form of spherical or irregular pellets of ice larger than 5 millimeters (0.2 inch) in diameter, usually associated with thunderstorms.
  2. Something that falls with the force and quantity of a shower of ice and hard snow:
  3. To precipitate in pellets of ice and hard snow.

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• fusillade

  1. A discharge from a number of firearms, fired simultaneously or in rapid succession.
  2. A rapid outburst or barrage:
  3. To attack with a fusillade.

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• cannonade

  1. To assault with heavy artillery fire.
  2. To deliver heavy artillery fire.
  3. An extended, usually heavy discharge of artillery.

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• burst

  1. To come open or fly apart suddenly or violently, especially from internal pressure.
  2. To explode.
  3. To be or seem to be full to the point of breaking open:

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• bombardment

  1. the act of bombing, especially towns or cities
  2. heavy artillery fire
  3. (physics) the incidence of an intense stream of high-energy particles directed at a substance

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• barrage

  1. An artificial obstruction, such as a dam or irrigation channel, built in a watercourse to increase its depth or to divert its flow.

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To set upon with violent force

• pitch into

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• light into

  1. To attack physically.
  2. To attack verbally; scold.

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• strike

  1. To hit sharply, as with a hand, fist, weapon, or implement:
  2. To inflict (a blow).
  3. To penetrate or pierce:

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• sail into

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• have at

  1. (idiomatic, archaic) To attack; to engage in combat with.

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• go at

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• fall on

  1. To experience; to suffer; to fall upon.

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• beset

  1. To attack from all sides.
  2. To trouble persistently; harass.
  3. To hem in; surround:

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• attack

  1. To set upon with violent force.
  2. To criticize strongly or in a hostile manner.
  3. To start work on with purpose and vigor:

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• assault

  1. A violent physical attack, as with blows.
  2. A strong or cutting verbal attack.
  3. A military attack, such as one launched against a fortified area or place.

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• assail

  1. To attack violently, as with blows or military force; assault.
  2. To attack verbally, as with ridicule or censure.
  3. To trouble or beset, as with questions or doubts.

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• aggress

  1. To initiate an attack, war, quarrel, or fight.

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A violent disturbance of the elements

• monsoon

  1. A wind system that influences large climatic regions and reverses direction seasonally.
  2. A wind from the southwest or south that brings heavy rainfall to southern Asia in the summer.
  3. A similar seasonal wind, as in the southwest United States, that brings increased rainfall.

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• blow

  1. A sudden hard stroke or hit, as with the fist or an object.
  2. An unexpected shock or calamity.
  3. An unexpected attack; an assault.

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• gale

  1. A wind with a speed of from 34 to 40 knots (39 to 46 miles per hour; 63 to 74 kilometers per hour), according to the Beaufort scale.
  2. A storm at sea.
  3. A forceful outburst:

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• blast

  1. A very strong gust of wind or air.
  2. The effect of such a gust.
  3. A forcible stream of air, gas, or steam from an opening, especially one in a blast furnace to aid combustion.

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• gust

  1. A strong, abrupt rush of wind.
  2. A sudden burst, as of rain or smoke.
  3. An outburst of emotion.

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• twister

  1. One that twists, as in the manufacture of rope or yarn.
  2. A ball thrown or batted with a twist.
  3. A tornado or cyclone.

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• tornado

  1. A violently rotating column of air extending from a cumulonimbus cloud to the ground, ranging in width from a few meters to more than a kilometer, with destructive winds up to 510 kilometers (316 miles) per hour or higher. Tornadoes are typically associated with a funnel cloud pendant from a storm's wall cloud, often extending to the bottom of the tornado.
  2. A violent thunderstorm in western Africa or nearby Atlantic waters.
  3. A whirlwind or hurricane.

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• cyclone

  1. An atmospheric system characterized by the rapid inward circulation of air masses about a low-pressure center, usually accompanied by stormy, often destructive weather. Cyclones circulate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
  2. A violent tropical storm, especially one originating in the southwestern Pacific Ocean or Indian Ocean.
  3. A violent rotating windstorm, especially a tornado.

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• hurricane

  1. A severe tropical cyclone having winds greater than 64 knots (74 miles per hour; 119 kilometers per hour), originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, traveling north, northwest, or northeast from its point of origin, and usually involving heavy rains.
  2. A wind with a speed greater than 64 knots (74 miles per hour; 119 kilometers per hour per hour), according to the Beaufort scale.
  3. Something resembling a hurricane in force or speed.

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• squall

  1. A loud, harsh cry.
  2. To scream or cry loudly and harshly.

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• purga

  1. A fine blizzard of snow in Russia.

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• snowstorm

  1. A storm marked by heavy snowfall.

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• blizzard

  1. A violent snowstorm with winds blowing at a minimum speed of 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour and visibility of less than one-quarter mile (400 meters) for three hours.
  2. A very heavy snowstorm with high winds.
  3. A torrent; a superabundance:

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• waterspout

  1. A tornado or less violent whirlwind occurring over water, consisting of a funnel-shaped whirling column of air and water droplets.
  2. A hole or pipe from which water is discharged.

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• disturbance

  1. The act of disturbing:
  2. The condition of being disturbed:
  3. Something that disturbs, as a commotion, scuffle, or public tumult.

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• cloudburst

  1. A sudden heavy rainstorm; a downpour.

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• downpour

  1. A heavy fall of rain.

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• tempest

  1. A violent windstorm, frequently accompanied by rain, snow, or hail.
  2. Furious agitation, commotion, or tumult; an uproar:
  3. To cause a tempest around or in.

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An outbreak suggestive of violent weather

• hysteria

  1. Behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic.
  2. A group of psychiatric symptoms, including heightened emotionality, attention-seeking behavior, and physical symptoms in the absence of organic pathology. The symptoms of hysteria are currently attributed to any of several psychiatric conditions, including somatization disorder, multiple personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder. The term hysteria is no longer used in clinical use.

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• passion

  1. suffering or agony, as of a martyr
  2. an account of this
  3. the sufferings of Jesus, beginning with his agony in the garden of Gethsemane and continuing to his death on the Cross

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• fury

  1. Violent anger; rage.
  2. A fit of anger:
  3. Violent or frenzied action:

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• rage

  1. Violent, explosive anger.
  2. A fit of anger.
  3. Furious intensity, as of a storm or disease.

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• hubbub

  1. A loud confusing noise:
  2. A confused situation; a tumult:

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• temper

  1. To modify by the addition of a moderating element; moderate:
  2. To bring to a desired consistency, texture, hardness, or other physical condition by blending, admixing, or kneading:
  3. To harden or strengthen (metal or glass) by application of heat or by heating and cooling.

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• racket

  1. A device consisting of an oval or circular frame with a tight interlaced network of strings and a handle, used to strike a ball or shuttlecock in various games.
  2. A wooden paddle, as one used in table tennis.
  3. A snowshoe.

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• perturbation

  1. The act of perturbing.
  2. The state of being perturbed; agitation.
  3. A small change in a physical system, such as a variation in a planet's orbit resulting from the gravitational influence of other celestial bodies.

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• violence

  1. Behavior or treatment in which physical force is exerted for the purpose of causing damage or injury:
  2. Intense force or great power, as in natural phenomena:
  3. Extreme or powerful emotion or expression:

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• turmoil

  1. A state of extreme confusion or agitation; commotion or tumult:

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• commotion

  1. A condition of turbulent motion.
  2. An agitated disturbance; a hubbub:
  3. Civil disturbance or insurrection; disorder.

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• annoyance

  1. The act of annoying or the state of being annoyed.
  2. A cause of irritation or vexation; a nuisance.

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• agitation

  1. The act of agitating or the state of being agitated.
  2. Extreme emotional disturbance; perturbation.
  3. The stirring up of public interest in a matter of controversy, such as a political or social issue.

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• anger

  1. A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility.
  2. To make angry; enrage or provoke.
  3. To become angry:

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To be stormy

• rain pitchforks and hammer-handles

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• breathe fire and fury

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• come down in bucketfuls

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• rain-cats-and-dogs

  1. (idiomatic) To rain very heavily.

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• patter

  1. To make a quick succession of light soft tapping sounds:
  2. To move with quick, light, softly audible steps.
  3. To cause to patter.

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• lay the dust

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• spit

  1. Saliva, especially when expectorated; spittle.
  2. The act of expectorating.
  3. Something, such as the frothy secretion of spittle bugs, that resembles spit.

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• mizzle

  1. To rain in fine, mistlike droplets; drizzle.
  2. A mistlike rain; a drizzle.

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• rain

  1. Water condensed from atmospheric vapor and falling in drops.
  2. A fall of such water; a rainstorm.
  3. The descent of such water.

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• drop

  1. The smallest quantity of liquid heavy enough to fall in a spherical mass.
  2. Liquid medicine administered in drops.
  3. A small quantity of a substance:

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• drizzle

  1. To rain gently in fine, mistlike drops.
  2. To let fall in fine drops or particles:
  3. To moisten with fine drops:

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• pour

  1. To cause (a liquid or granular solid) to stream or flow, as from a container:
  2. To pour a liquid or particles into (a container):
  3. To empty (a container) of a liquid or granular solid:

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• squall

  1. A loud, harsh cry.
  2. To scream or cry loudly and harshly.

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• set-in

  1. Made or placed as a part of another unit or structure:
  2. Made separately and stitched into the main part:
  3. Material, as for a book, that is inserted; an insert.

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• roar

  1. The loud deep cry of a wild animal, especially a lion or other wild cat.
  2. A loud, deep, prolonged sound or cry, as of a person in distress or rage.
  3. A loud prolonged noise, such as that produced by waves.

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• blow a gale

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• howl

  1. To utter or emit a long, mournful, plaintive sound.
  2. To cry or wail loudly, as in pain, sorrow, or anger.
  3. To laugh heartily.

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• blow violently

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To make a violent attack

• assail

  1. To attack violently, as with blows or military force; assault.
  2. To attack verbally, as with ridicule or censure.
  3. To trouble or beset, as with questions or doubts.

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• rush

  1. To move swiftly; hurry:
  2. To act with great haste:
  3. To make a sudden or swift attack or charge:

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• charge

  1. To impose a duty, responsibility, or obligation on:
  2. To instruct or urge authoritatively; command:
  3. To instruct (a jury) about the law, its application, and the weighing of evidence.

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• attack

  1. To set upon with violent force.
  2. To criticize strongly or in a hostile manner.
  3. To start work on with purpose and vigor:

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