STORM. In the Palestinian environment, storms are frequent phenomena and figured prominently in the consciousness of some Biblical writers e.g., the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah, who saw them variously as a threat to security or a punishment inflicted upon wrongdoers. (Cf. Pss 55:8; 83:15; Isa 4:6; 25:4; 28:2.) The most common kinds of storm experienced in Pal. are (1) thunderstorms, which occur mainly at the start of the rainy season, in the autumn when the land is still hot; they are particularly common around the Sea of Galilee, where sea air flowing inland passes over the hot basin in which the lake lies; (2) whirlwinds, or local vortices, such as the one by which Elijah was caught up (2 Kings 2); (3) desert storms. These are the most important in their effects. They occur when the wind blows out from the desert, bringing hot, parching air to the cultivated lands on the desert margins. In Pal. such winds are known as Sirocco, and blow from the S or E, i.e. from the Arabian Desert. They are experienced generally at the beginning and at the end of the summer season and often are accompanied by choking dust and very high temperatures. Blowing across the land of Pal., they raise storms as far W as the Mediterranean (cf. Ps 48:7). Jesus referred to the characteristics of the desert wind in Luke 12:55.