Throughout history and around the world, people have seen tornadoes as manifestations of God’s will. In the Book of Job in the Old Testament, God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind. In Hosea, the whirlwind is the punishment of the wicked. The fearsome power of tornadoes, and wind in general, is associated with the omnipotence of deities. Because of their shape, tornadoes are also associated with spirals and so carry the weight of the created universe, from galaxies to the human ear. Yet a tornado has a wildness to it that suggests vengefulness and fury.
When a tornado shows up in a dream, it often carries with it the metaphorical meaning of a message from the Divine, or our spiritual selves. Jeremy Taylor has a thorough article on tornadoes on his website, and states that in his extensive experience, “The dream ‘tornado’, over and over again, turns out to be symbol of the dreamer’s own personal relationship to the deepest unasked and unanswered psycho-spiritual questions is his/her life, and these issues always have transpersonal implications as well.” When I dream of a tornado, then, it’s worth asking what questions I’ve been grappling with, or should be grappling with, in my psyche or spirit.
We have many images of tornadoes in our collective awareness, from the one in The Wizard of Oz to the ones that are caught on video by bystanders and tornado chasers and news cameras. It’s easy to see how such an image could influence a dreamer’s night time dreams, especially if those images were first seen at an impressionable young age. But it’s simplistic to “blame” a movie version of a tornado for repeated tornado dreams. Millions of people have seen The Wizard of Oz, yet not every person who saw it for the first time as young child has recurring tornado dreams. A more interesting approach, to me, is to ask why the image captures some people’s imaginations so strongly, while not affecting others. My projection is that the tornado shows up in dreams because, as the dreamer, I have a spiritual calling or a deep issue within my psyche that needs my attention. The tornado gets my attention in a big way, especially if the dream feels nightmarish, and by its intensity suggests that the spiritual question is of the utmost importance in my life.
The tornado in the Wizard of Oz acts as a transformative agent, taking Dorothy out of her familiar life and depositing her in a strange world where she discovers that she has more power than she’d ever imagined. This symbolism holds true in many tornado dreams, where the new, strange world is a metaphorical one, but the dreamer’s ability to discover unexpected abilities and powers is literal.
84 thoughts on “Tornadoes as a Dream Symbol”
I been dreamn of tornadoes n after the dreams people have bn leaving my life. A few friends n thn my husband. They didnt die, they jst changed the way they use2b n then they left. My husband started changing. He wouldnt do the things he use2 do, help me, he was more negative towards me. The energy frm him became more negative so I left him. I started questioning the bible bcause he and I were both baptized yet he would quote scriptures but he wasnt even doing wat the bible asked of us2 do. Somthing happened 2me prior 2 the last tornadoe dream which I feel was about him. I was n the woods n the spirit was n me. I was speaking n a language unknown 2me. All I could understand is that I was sayn “Allah” n this went on for an hour – an hr and 1/2. So I thought 2myself maybe im n the wrong religion. I really dont believe in religion, I believe in having faith… Ppl hv bn adding and taking out of the bible and maybe the quoran. Im nt sure if they hv bn taking out quoran, thts wat I heard. Bt im jst confused bcause idw 2b going the wrong route. I had bn prayn to leave the situation I was in prior 2metting my husband n whn we met its like we were inseparable. No matter if we left eachother god always brought us back together. I feel satan was tryn 2 break us up n the beginning so I wouldnt b able to get baptized. Bt I held on n nw my husband is gone. We made a covenant with god n I feel like I broke it. B4 I left my husband I had a dream tht I was torment by demons n I felt the torment n reality, n my sleep so I thought tht it meant if I stayed with him I was going2 hell. I dnt knw if I took the dream out of context.
It doesn’t surprise me that tornadoes would show up during such a tumultuous time in life. When I imagine the dream of being tormented by demons, it makes it clear that something about the situation wants my attention pretty badly! And to think in the dream that if I stay with him, I’m going to hell, feels like a clear indicator that at some level I was seriously unhappy in the situation. Imagining myself as the dreamer, I was seeking some connection with the Divine, whatever I name it, and maybe I need to find that connection without other people’s relationship with the divine getting in my way. Thanks for sharing your dreams!
I’m sorry you had such a hard time. I hope things got better for you as this is an older post. Sounds like you were praying in tongues, like the Apostles in the book of Acts after they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. If so, it sounds like you were speaking Arabic. Both Christan and Muslims use the term Allah in Arabic. It translates as The God. If that is the case, the Holy Spirit blessed you with a gift. No worries. That is actually part of a practicing Christian life. Sometimes you will understand the interpretation, other times someone will be given the gift of interpretation for what you say. I use my prayer tongues when I don’t know what to pray, especially in very emotional times and have been very blessed by it. Find someone who is a Charismatic Catholic in your ares and they can explain this gift and others gifts of the Holy Spirit further for you. 🙂 God bless you.
I had a dream about a tornado last night. I used to have tornado dreams when I was a kid, too. I wanted to comment about the spiritual questions. I have a lot of questions, but I always figure that God will answer them when I get to Heaven, but you’re right, it’s worth it to ask them. Dreams are important messages from God. Thank you, so much.
I had a dream a tornado last night and in my dream. its a silver colored tornado .. but I Dont feel any wind .. I just saw it pass .. and every places where it passes the place is devastated ..
Its the first time that I dream like it .. and in my prayer .. I receive a reply in my thought .. READ THE SCRIPTURES .. I think my spiritual aspect is getting weak for I have not been reading scriptures this week .. maybe i slowly destroying myself without knowing because I’m getting pass feeling ..
but I still have time to renew things the good way .. I just have fear of doing something right now that might affect someone’s plan ..
One of my favorite dreams involved a tornado. It was coming towards the house, and then I became aware that I was dreaming (it became a lucid dream) so as it was approaching my porch I took off running toward it and planned on diving into it and swirling around inside of it. But as a dove into it a huge metal hand caught me, then I woke up. Not sure why the hand captured me when I wanted to twirl inside the tornado.
I have had a tornado dream.
on this dream appeared an Orange fast aggressive tornado.
Till this day I’m still searching for answers.please help.
Hi Micheal I too had a dream of a orange tornado. I am too am also looking for answers.
In my dream it was a redish orange type sky and tornado. I am too interested in knowing whether or not you’ve found an answer to this…
I just literally had a dream about multiple tornadoes coming through our home but my home was still standing. Even a little tiny tornado cane through and went out. I opened the windows and they went out. Then when I looked at the sky it was a beautiful orange and red color but it wasn’t normal it was nice but creepy at the same time.
When I imagine an orange tornado I can’t escape the feeling that this is related to Trump and the chaos that is ensuing now with the pandemic. However, the dreams come in the service of health and wholeness, so what can I, as the dreamer, do about the current situation? The coronavirus is also often depicted with red spikes, so perhaps these dreams served as a warning about the pandemic. Orange is also associated with passion, the fire of creativity, so maybe the dreams call on me, urgently, to create something.
I just had a dream that I was home with my kids and I had made the decision to move in with a friend (My husband and I are going through a divorce right now). My older kids stepmom stopped by and was complaining to me about things with the kids but she was helping me clean out rooms and pack, but I didn’t tell anyone I was moving. I happened to look out the window as the skies turned black and a sandy colored tornado forms. I start screaming at everyone to get to the basement. Which was me my kids my kids stepmom and my ex grandmother (no idea why she was in this dream). My ex husband and my soon to be ex husband were not there. No one would listen to me to go to the basement except the grandmother. I woke up before the tornado hit, I am so confused by this….. but I woke up sweating and my heart was beating fast, I was scared!!!
Thank you, Sarah, for sharing this dream. Nightmares that wake us in panic bring that energy to alert the dreamer that there’s something important to pay attention to. Packing to move feels like deciding to make a change in my life (imagining myself as the dreamer) and sorting through the things in my habits, my psyche, my ways of being in the world and deciding what to take with me. It’s hard to do that when a storm is approaching fast. So I would be curious about what plans and changes I’d made that are disrupted now. The men being absent from the dream suggests that this is a situation I need to face with female energy–be ready to listen and work toward resolution. I’m able to get my elder to safety, but my younger parts are going to experience the storm. So when I imagine this dream, there are older, wiser parts of me that I can keep safe, and newer patterns or projects (the kids) that are going to be more at risk.
One thing that many fail to realize about a dream, whether recurring or not, about a tornado, and even a hurricane, is that they represent Divine winds of change beyond our control. They are messages from God telling us that change is coming and that we are to prepare ourselves. When the dream recurs back to back without a major lull in time, it generally means that the vision from God is set in stone and will take place at a set time in the very near future. The color is important too. Black represents bad and white represents good change coming.
In my experience, these interpretations may be true for some, but not for everyone. Black, in my experience, doesn’t represent “bad” so much as those shadow pieces of myself that I haven’t acknowledged. Thanks for sharing your perspective on tornado dreams.
I just woke up from a tornado dream . I was located at work and it was overwhelming because it was super busy and customers were getting frustrated because we were short handed and we were covering lunches . I had to keep empathizing with customers and as I was checking on a customer in the lobby . A window was beside me and I seen a tornado form and it was very black and red but skinny . In the dream , I was pointing out how weird the cloud looked but someone suggested in my dream that it was a tornado .
I had a dream of an aggressive tornado with demonic voices coming out of it. I remember running to shelter. The shelter was a reoccurring place in many of my dreams. It then turned into an old green house made out of red brick and shattered windows. Then I woke up.
I had a dream about a tornado last night. I dreamt I looked out the window and saw one forming. But it was huge, almost like three in one. But the right side of it was brightly colored red, blue. My parents who passed away several years ago were also in the dream. We were getting ready to leave but when I got to the end of the driveway I heard a loud pop. I looked and saw the tire was shredded, also my car was red. In my dream this was the second time the tire had popped while trying to leave. And I remember thinking this was a sign that I shouldn’t go anywhere. The tornado never made it to us, suddenly the skies were blue.
i had a dream of a storm were i saw it from a distance from my window then it was forming into a tornado white clouds coming down i was going to close the window because it was getting near me “close to me very close” before i could shut the window i woke up with a little adrenaline heart beating a little fast
In my dream, my husband was driving, I looked out the window to the right and saw a huge tornado. I pointed it out to my husband and he said it was a fire. I looked around and there were tornadoes everywhere, even overhead. The ones in front of us and over us were sideways and they seemingly skipped, dipping down and back up. I didn’t hear any noise but I started praying, then it started raining and that’s all I remember. When I got up, I told my husband about the dream. As I was telling him; I thought of the scripture that refers to Satan being the prince of the air. For me, I think this dream is reminding me that we are in a spiritual battle and we must pray.
I had a dream about tornadoes. The first was late and black. It moved before me in a straight line. Three smaller black funnels followed, all moving I a straight line. Behend them followed three white funnels; again moving in a storyline before me. Nothing was destroyed and I was not afraid in this dream
In the dream, the tornado was approaching. It was imminent. I also had a child with me. It wasn’t my own child. However, I was responsible for the well being of this child. The authorities told me there was not enough room for me and the child. I had a decision to make. The decision, to leave the child in a safer shelter with strangers. Or take this child with me to the other shelter location. This location was not as safe as the first shelter. This alternate shelter was like a ditch with a cardboard top for protection. I had seconds to make this critical life and death decision. Running calculations in my head, time is of the essence. Leave the child in the safer shelter with strangers? Will the child feel abandoned? When we are in two different locations it would be safer in case of a direct hit from the tornado. I was pregnant in this dream which if funny because I am past childbearing years. I decided to leave the child in the safer shelter. As the tornado is approaching, a public works employee who had white hair and beard said, “Well, here is a pumpkin pie. Hope this helps and good luck.” Then he closed the box top over me and I woke up.
I dream of tornadoes a lot! Last night I dreamed of several always black or dark gray. But I never see any damage nor do they ever get to me. Most the time we are driving but last nights I was either standing out side or in not sure . Sometimes the tornadoes are very large sometimes skinny and long. Some are just forming from clouds some completely form some just go back into the clouds but then another will form.
And I am usually warning someone about them. Anyone have some insight on these dreams?
Me too!! I am always trying to save people and think of the safest place to go
I had a rather unpleasant dream, My grandparents have a lot of woods behind them and behind the woods is a big lake. In my dream I was working for a crew that was cutting the trees down then digging a huge hole and expanding the lake where the woods was. One day I went and visited my grandfather and he was upset and saying something bad is coming And they was in deep prayer about it but I took it lightly and kept working. Then the dream switched and there was a lady on the TV saying hurricanes was all over the oceans and country’s where literally being torn Apart, Then it switched again and I was randomly far away from my family and the ones I love and there was roughly 7 tornados heading to the town where my loved ones lived, I was on the phone with them and they was saying we are ok! We are just hiding under the table and all of a sudden the phone went blank and I couldn’t heat them anymore. And I was left a lone, even in a dream I’ve never felt so alone. Then I woke up. Someone please help.
I dreamed of a tornado last night and my husband and I went to sleep for a nap. When we arose, the tornado had hit and caused damage to our old house and our daughters house. She had been recording the tornado but when she tried to play it back for us because we slept thru it, another strong wind cams not a tornado but straight line very strong winds. ???
I had a dream that we were outside and I looked out across a field and saw two tornadoes. My husband and I started running toward a house. When we got to the steps the lights were on and no one was there. I also noticed a couple of other houses with lights on but no one were in any of them. Also everything was very calm.
I have always dreamed. Some more intense than others. Although the dreams that wake me up and stick I my head has always been a message to me. My mom I the same way. Dreaming of muddy waters, or dark sky’s.
But last night I had a dream of tornados. I looked out of my window and their were at least 5+ tornados. Real bright ones. I grabbed my dog and ran to my closet in my room. Why? Idk. All of a sudden I could see the tornado going from one side to the next right in front of my house. It just caught my eye and I was starting at it. As if I couldn’t move my eyes away. I wasn’t scared, worried. It was as if it was trying to tell me something. The slow rotation of the tornado took its time passing me and just sit spinning in front of me. It was lil I was starring trying to figure out a puzzle.
I just woke up from a dream about a tornado. I was sleeping in that dream and my older sister came into my room to wake me up. The tornado was directly over our house and I could see it through every window. We were in the middle of it. It went on for a short while and then it raised up from our house and then spiraled away into the sky, leaving everything untouched. What does this mean? I’ve been having problems with my job and my relationship. Even so, I had a disagreement with my sister earlier that day. Which situation does it symbolize or does it symbolize all? I would love to know. Please assist.
I’ve been having dreams of tornadoes lately all different .. but the most resent was last night. I was in a open place and multiple tornadoes where near me, I would run around and try to not get hit by all the tornadoes, but there was one that was passing by right in front of me and as it passed by it left a plague.. and then there was a picture of the map of the United States and all the states were red and orange. The only states that were white was Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, north and south dekota.. I felt like it meant that these places would not be hit as badly, but today there is tornadoes warning in Oklahoma so idk now.. I’ve had many prophetic dreams but idk what to think.. I feel like if something is coming to the USA and it’s going to cause an outbreak and a lot of natural disasters is coming. Someone help please
Hi Karla, I’m only on here to look up why I had a dream about a tornado almost taking my son, and he barely made it into the safe on time…he said he “just couldn’t hear me” yet I was screaming and cursing at the top of my lungs.
Back to your statement about something coming to the US. I have some prophetic and discernment of spirits, I would even dare to say that I’m very sensitive to the holy spirit well. One example, I knew my late boyfriend was going to die in a plane crash the day before (he was a private pilot, and had just got his commercial license, so he was an excellent pilot). I tried to sell him life insurance (which was odd for me since he didn’t have any kids and was only 24), I had a vision of the right wing hitting the ground first, asked him a million questions about maintenance on the plane (cause of the crash), and I heard in my head “HE’S NOT COMING BACK, YOU WILL NOT SEE HIM AGAIN”.
More so lately I have been very uneasy in my spirit, or gut as many people say. I too feel like something big is coming, and it’s not good at all. I keep searching and praying how to prepare for it, but I am not getting any other answer than to keep strong in your faith and keep praying, to get yourself right with God. So, I’ve been doing just that. I quit drinking, I quit with men that are not after God themselves, I pray day and night, and just focus on enjoying life with my son and family. I also went to confession which was really refreshing.
But with Trump doing what he’s doing to the children and their families, disrupting foreign relationships and pissing big powerful countries off…I don’t expect it to go unpunished so to speak. I’m a conservative fyi. But nothing is right in the world right now. I see people becoming less empathetic and less patient. It’s very disheartening and scary.
I don’t think it will be anything to do with tornados. But I do believe that your dream is on point, and I hate to say this…but I am glad I live in Oklahoma because I know it’s not a big “hit” target and if any plague does come…we should be okay. If food sources are reduced (which it will be -again partially thanks to Trump, the other part will be natural disasters -thanks to us all not taking care of our planet), there will be so many ripple effects that we won’t be ready to handle, and are not ready to handle.
We won’t be able to get enough people on board so to speak to make this boat turn around before it’s too late, and we leave a scar that will never be forgotten. I pray for our children, because they’ll be the ones to change it.
Take a look at these verses. Maybe it’ll bring some peace to you knowing that you can do something : https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Sleep,-Spiritual
Pray for peace, guidance, and if you want to know…ask Him. But it won’t be specific, but He’ll let you know. I believe this because you were spot on with your dream! Thanks for sharing, and I’m glad I came upon it. 🤗
I just read what you wrote almost a year ago and how accurate you were I also had a Tornado dream last night that I was in the mist of and I believe it is telling me that we will get through this time and it reminded me that God is still in control and there will forever change in this country
Karla, I am struck by how similar the map image is to the Johns Hopkins map of the spread of the coronavirus. This seems to me to be a premonition dream. How does it seem to you now, almost a year later?
Wow Karla you were so spot on with the map of the states and the red and having to avoid the ‘little tornados’ when outside (having to be careful outside not to get covid when)! I want to hear more of your dreams!