Fear of the weather?! Plenty of people suffer from one form or another

Special thanks goes out to Tony Hake, of the Denver Weather Examiner, for doing the research to come up with this great list of phobias.  In his article, "Scared of the weather?  You're not alone!" Tony expands upon a recent article that appeared in the Washington Post about phobias related to the weather.  He also shares a list of phobias I found interesting, and thought you might, as well.

I meet so many individuals across New England who fear the weather, and have found that nearly without exception, education makes all the difference in the world.  Of course, I don't mean simple education of how weather works, but rather, the intricate details and the explanation of WHY certain weather safety tips exist, and the scientific reasoning behind "safe places" from various weather events.  These conversations don't have to be extensive to allay a fear enough for someone to face their nemesis weather event the next time it appears, though I almost always suggest additional research online, and even some professional help if the phobia doesn't ease with the acquisition of new knowledge.

Do you have another fear or phobia that isn't included here?  Do you know of one you'd like to add?  Have you experienced or know someone who experienced one or more of these fears, and found a way to overcome it?  Share any of these things in the comments section of this post!

 

• Ancraophobia or Anemophobia - Fear of wind
• Astraphobia, Astrapophobia, Ceraunophobia, Keraunophobia - Fear of thunder and lightning
• Auroraphobia- Fear of Northern lights
• Frigophobia, Cheimaphobia, Cheimatophobia, Psychrophobia - Fear of cold or cold things
• Homichlophobia or Nebulaphobia - Fear of fog
• Lilapsophobia - Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes
• Ombrophobia or Pluviophobia - Fear of rain or of being rained on
• Pagophobia- Fear of ice or frost
• Phengophobia- Fear of daylight or sunshine
• Tonitrophobia- Fear of thunder - NOTE from Matt:  I'd heard of this one as brontophobia, and upon researching, found that the two terms are interchangeable

Comments

[Paul]

That's a good list, seeing all the weather fears put together. Obviously with the present weather conditions seemingly getting worse, it is likely these fears will rise. I agree that education will help most people. However there is a big step between weather WORRIES, than having a full blown weather fear. I think it would be fair to say, there are a lot of people that worry about the weather.