My oldest son has had major anxiety about the weather for years, especially during the summer months when the dark clouds come rolling in. Some days it was really challenging to get my son outdoors, even though the weather was perfectly safe. Perhaps you have a child who is anxious about the weather as well.
Well, that's where these free social stories about the weather come in. They discuss topics like hurricanes, tornadoes, rain, snow days, temperature, and dressing for the weather. They touch on safety plans and more.
Free Social Stories About the Weather
Have you been looking for a social story about bad weather or dressing for the weather? Then look no further than these free printable weather social stories. Some require you to have a Teachers Pay Teachers account (which is free!) before you can download them.
I've rounded up some options for you to explore. That way you can find the best weather related social story for yourself or your child. Or you can simply use ideas from different stories below to write your own custom story (free social story templates here to help).
Please note that just because a social story is listed here does not mean I endorse its content. After all, many social stories tend to be poorly written and/or teach autistic masking. Besides, I haven't read all of these stories word for word myself. So please read through the stories carefully before using them.
1. Choosing What to Wear for the Weather Social Story - While this story focuses more on choosing clothing to wear in general, it does have three pages dedicated to picking clothing to match the weather and temperature. It talks about sunny and warm, cold and snowy, and rainy weather.
2. Temperature & Weather Social Stories from Happy Learners - There are four text only social stories here. The topics include air temperature, I feel cold, I feel hot, and dressing for the weather.
3. Weather Safety Preparation Social Stories from Institute for Childhood Preparedness in collaboration with Autism Little Learners - You will find a few different social stories here on the topics of earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes. The stories are available in both English and Spanish and use colorful clipart throughout.
4. Bad Weather Social Story from Boardmaker - This story talks about staying safe during bad weather. It uses Boardmaker symbols and clipart.
5. Dress for the Weather Social Story from Boardmaker - Want to help kids understand how to dress for different types of weather? Then try this story that includes full color photos.
6. Staying Safe from Tornadoes Social Story from Autism Grown Up Resource Center on TPT - This story looks really detailed and is editable. It focuses on creating safety plans and uses photos throughout.
7. Social Narrative About Hurricanes from Autism Educators on TPT - This story talks about hurricane season and how to stay safe during a hurricane. It uses colorful clipart images.
8. Rain Boots Social Story from OT Social Stories on TPT - This story focuses on helping kids get comfortable wearing rain boots. It uses photos throughout.
9. Severe Weather Drill Social Story from Melissa Henkel on TPT - Here's a simple one page story about severe weather. The text is accompanied by simple icon clipart.
10. Weather Social Story from Meg Kell on TPT - Have a child who doesn't like storms? Try this simple one page story. It includes random clipart and icons.
11. Snow Day Social Story from The ABLEities Foundation on TPT - The concept of snow days is so weird/foreign to me (I live in the Canadian prairies where we get snow and ridiculous temperatures for like 5-6 months of the year). But, if you experience the occasional snow day, then this story might be helpful. It uses icon style clipart.
12. How to Dress for Cold Winter Weather from Wild Child Learning on TPT - This story talks about dressing layers to stay safe in cold weather. It uses simple black and white drawings by the looks of things.
13. What to Wear in the Winter: Social Story for Boys from Sped-Ventures on TPT - This story talks about what types of clothing is appropriate to wear in the winter and uses colorful clipart.
14. What to Wear in the Winter: Social Story for Girls from Sped-Ventures on TPT - Likely the exact same story as above, but with different clipart tailored towards girls.
15. Getting Dressed in Winter Social Story from Play Based Fun on TPT - Here's a story that talks about getting dressed for cold winter temperatures. It uses Boardmaker symbols and first, then, next, last language.
Video Social Stories About Different Weather Conditions
Here are some video social stories that talk about different types of weather conditions. You can use these in teletherapy sessions, social skills groups, at home, and/or classroom settings. Videos are always a great alternative to printing off a story.
Like the stories above, some of the wording in these videos aren't always great. But I wanted to make sure you had lots of different options for helping your child understand different aspects of the weather, including dealing with severe weather, snow days, and/or knowing how to dress for the weather.
Want to Teach Your Child More About the Weather? Try this Printable Pack!
To help my son with his weather anxiety, learning more about the different types of weather in more detail made a huge difference. He could analyze the clouds and recognize that the clouds he spotted weren't rain clouds. Or he would know the likelihood of a tornado happening where we live is pretty low. These things made him feel more comfortable about heading outdoors in the summer.
This weather printable pack goes over different types of clouds, the types of tornadoes, different types of storms, and more. There are lots of great weather activities in this pack! And they can be a great tool for supporting your weather anxious kids.
Grab your copy of the weather printable pack
As you know, weather can be a pretty broad topic, making it difficult to cover all possible weather conditions. However, using these free social stories about the weather can be a great starting point. So, hopefully you found something that might be useful to you.
I also have additional weather related resources here that might be of use to you.
