People are always surprised when I declare how much I love storms and violent weather. Rain is cleansing, wind (especially a hurricane) is exhilarating, snow is peaceful. They all remind me that the natural world rolls on around us while we are tucked away in our little man-made cocoons, whether we’re paying attention or not.

Violent weather is universally humbling, and humility is too rare a trait in these careful worlds we’ve constructed for ourselves.