What does it mean to dream about a tornado? A tornado in a dream almost always points to worry and anxiety: something in your life that feels out of your control, that you are bracing yourself for, and that has your emotions spinning. The details matter, such as where you are, who is with you and whether the tornado reaches you, because they point to what you’re worried about and how strong you feel right now. Above all, the dream is a wake-up call to calm down, relax and let go of what you can’t control.
As you know, the weather has been crazy lately. With all the flooding and tornadic activity these days, you can’t help but worry. And all that worry can lend itself to turbulent dreams! The following is an excerpt from the Weather Dreams chapter of my latest book Dream On It, Unlock Your Dreams, Change Your Life
Weather changes from one day to the next, even from one moment to the next, and so do our emotions. To the dreaming mind, our emotions are the weather conditions that form and flow within our psyche. Just as a meteorologist tracks the weather in order to keep us informed and prepared to handle the days ahead, so should we track and understand our psychological weather to keep us informed and prepared to handle our lives. If you pay attention, your own dreaming mind will give you the most accurate and reliable emotional forecast available.
Tornadoes
When putting this chapter together, I searched all my client files, went through all my published newspaper columns, scanned my members’ forum for various weather dreams and discovered that almost all of the weather dreams I had accumulated were of tornadoes! So I put out a query to my newsletter members soliciting for weather dreams in hopes of getting more variations, and of all the dreams sent in… almost all were still of tornadoes. Sigh. Needless to say, the tornado is an image imbedded deeply and firmly within our collective psyche.
The nature of the approaching tornado is what I believe makes it such a popular dream symbol. If you’ve ever actually experienced a tornado, or even just watched one on TV, it is the waiting and wondering over the uncertainty of its path that impacts you the most, “Which way is it going to go? Is it going to hit my house? How bad will it be? How long until it gets here?” The element of bracing for possible disaster is what plays the biggest role in the meaning behind the tornado dream.
Dream Chat With Lauri
Dreamed about a tornado? Let’s explore what it means for you.
Enter your dream in the box below. Let’s connect it to what’s happening in your life.
Dream Chat With Lauri
Lauri’s process. Powered by AI. Let’s explore your tornado dream.
Enter your dream in the box below. Let’s connect it to what’s happening in your life.
A reader’s recurring tornado dream
I have had recurring dreams of tornadoes for as long as I can remember. Last night I had a dream that I was in a trailer by myself. There was a horrible storm and then a tornado appeared out of nowhere! The windows started breaking because of the hail. Then the trailer was actually picked up by the tornado and landed safely in another state! – Nancy 36
Lauri: Lifelong recurring tornado dreams are a good indication you are a proud, card-carrying member of the worry-wart club. You’ll find that your tornado dreams are likely to coincide with your bouts of worry or panic. You’ll also find that your bouts of worry are often over something that you cannot control, just as no one can control a tornado, it is an act of God. In this latest dream you are in a trailer, which is the weakest structure you could be in during a tornado. This means you are not feeling very strong at the moment. Then your trailer winds up in another state! Your dream is telling you that you need to move on from this worrisome “state” of mind. Sometimes you’ve gotta let go and let things play themselves out naturally. When you can move into this more relaxed state of mind, your tornado dreams will have no reason to come back.
Nancy replies: Yes I am a worrywart. I worry about everything!! I will have to start keeping track of when I have the dreams and what I am worried about at the time. I always had a feeling that’s what it meant.
Why tornado dreams are actually good for you
As frightening as tornado dreams can be, they are actually good for you because they are alerting you to the fact that you are letting your worry and anxiety get the best of you… and it is often worry and anxiety over something that may not even cross your path. Your dream is showing you your own worry in the form of a tornado so that you can understand the destructive force it has on your psyche.
Dreaming of a tornado coming toward you
When the tornado is heading straight for you, the dream is focusing on that moment of bracing for impact. This often lines up with a situation in waking life that seems to be closing in: a deadline, a test result, a difficult conversation, or a change at work or at home that you can see coming but can’t control. Ask yourself what you have been worrying about lately. If you run from the tornado or hide from it, you may be avoiding that issue, or a confrontation you know you need to have. The message is that you can’t run from it forever; the longer you avoid it, the longer the worry will follow you.
Tornado dreams about your family
When your family is with you in the tornado, or you are trying to get them to safety, first ask whether there is a real, current worry involving them, such as a loved one’s health, a family member going through a hard time, or tension at home. If so, your dream is showing you how anxious you are about it. If there is no current issue, that family member may be standing in for a part of you that is like them, so look at what you have in common. If the tornado is threatening your house, remember that a house in a dream symbolizes you and your state of mind, so the worry may be shaking you up more than you realize. Either way, trying to protect everyone often reflects feeling responsible for keeping things together, even though, just like a tornado, much of it isn’t yours to control.
Dreaming of more than one tornado
Several tornadoes at once usually means several worries at once. If it feels like one thing after another has been piling up, your dream is showing you how stretched your nerves are. It can help to name each worry, sort out which ones you can actually do something about, and let go of the rest. For another reader’s dream about this, see A dream of lots of tornadoes… oh my!
Tornado dream FAQ
What do tornadoes mean in dreams?
Tornadoes almost always point to worry and anxiety, especially about something you can’t control. To the dreaming mind, our emotions are the weather, and a tornado is that worry taking shape.
Why do I keep having tornado dreams?
Recurring tornado dreams tend to come back during bouts of worry or panic, and dreaming of them often is a good sign you’re a card-carrying member of the worry-wart club. Keeping track of when you have them and what you were worried about at the time can show you the pattern.
Does a tornado dream mean a real tornado is coming?
Usually not. A tornado dream reflects your inner weather, meaning how you feel about what’s going on in your life, rather than predicting the actual weather.
Is there a spiritual meaning to tornado dreams?
A tornado is often called an act of God because no one can control it. That’s why these dreams are a wake-up call to calm down, relax, and "let go and let God," letting things play themselves out.
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“I love this new book from Lauri! I have referred to it for a different reason every single day since I got it. It’s been really great and helped me understand all my dreams. It’s been eye-opening and all the girls in my office want to borrow it. I love how she writes and breaks everything down into simple terms.” – Heather, Wichita, KS
I had the most bizarre dream last night, I was on a beach with my ex boyfriend and his cousin. The sun was warm, it was peaceful. In the distance I could see this water tornado. It was white and blue and started to move towards the beach. It got bigger and started to move faster. My ex’s cousin and I both got up and started running. My ex stood there and as his cousin and I stood in a safe place, the water tornado sucked up my ex and then body slammed him to the ground. I woke up instantly.
Hey I Also Keep Having A Tornado Dress This Is My 3rd Dream I Looked Outside And Seen a Tornado Forming I’m always Tryna Help People In The Dreams also And The Tornado Never Hurt Me I Just See Them And Try To Help Others But Its Always After My Loves Ones as Well it Will kill everybody and just leave me
I have often had the same basic tornado dream. The dream is in various place in my home town. What is so strange is that it is the same tornado in every dream,I kow this because the tornado has a personality that is evil and in every dream it remembers me and I remember it. The tornado is never after me it is always tring to kill someone I care about and I spend the entire dream trying to get to the person and warn them.. I can sense what the tornado is thinking thats how I know who it is after. Just before the tornado reaches the person it is after I wake up. I have had this dream over and over for years,it is never after me but someone I care about and it is often different people, And like a telapathic link it lets me know who it is going after as if to torment me. Sometimes I have even put myself in its path as if to stop it but it never hurts me it just goes around me and continues on its path. I know this sounds crazy and I have never heard of anyone else having dreams like this. I just dont know what it means ,if anything.
I thought I could trust this source more than any other but I’ve had recurring tornado dreams my whole life in which they are currently intensifying and I am not in any state of worry, fear, anxiety, negativity, or doubt in my life whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I am in excitement, positivity, and courage for what’s to come for me in the near and long term future.
Dreamed about being in multiple tornadoes last nite, extremely unusual for me – I rarely recall dreaming anything. Inside of a house with other people (friends and/or family members…???) Very violent tornadoes hitting one after another, it seemed that the house was gonna be ripped apart at any moment, yet it remained intact (very strange) and no one was harmed. Looking outside afterward, everything everywhere was destroyed… except the house we were in, it was STILL STANDING!
I dreamed of a tornado that had rainbow colored circles in it only halfway up. Looked like a rainbow was trying to stop it. After it ended the sky was blood red and opened. I heard someone say in the dream, that’s the blood of people and animals in the sky the tornadoes have ever sucked up and killed, that they were all going to heaven now. People were just watching. I dreamed of tornadoes before but never one with a rainbow and the ending with the red open sky was horrifying. I’m scared about this dream.
I keep having this dream where I am riding a motorcycle down the interstate and this bad storm starts but I keep going trying to outrun it then all of the sudden several tornados come out of no where sometimes I get away but lately they have been getting me and tossing me and I wake up very scared plz help what does it mean
29/04/2017
I just had a dream about multiple tornadoes. I wondered by the laundry room window and 5 kilometers away I saw 3 tornadoes at first the middle one being the biggest. I ran to my mum and family saying there’s tornadoes coming please we have to go. My mum was like fine yeah. I ran down the hallway passage and saw that they were closer and I counted 7 out loud. I ran to a corner and held on to the doorways and closed my eyes and prayed to God that we’d live. But the tornadoes didn’t hit. I ran outside to the front and I watched them dissapear, fade and pass through the buildings across the road from my house. Then I woke up.
I remember the prayer, how many tornadoes there were and especially my emotion the most vivid in my dream.
I had a dream that I saw a tornado coming & I went back inside the store where my boyfriend was at but my boyfriend in my dream was never really my boyfriend he was a,friend that died in a car wreck years ago ..not sure why I dreamed of him ..
I had a similar dream…
I dreamt of multiple firenados, regular tornados and waterspouts all in one huge violent thunderstorm. (I didn't know what a firenado was until i researched it after the dream)
I was not in the storm, rather, I was a spectator from a very tall mountain, and the skies were dark for miles. You could hear people screaming below. It was a wierd dream to say the least.
I had a tornado dream last night. This is the first one I can remember having. I was in a house with at least one other person. I looked out of the window and saw a pristine white tornado in the distance. There was no debris field at its base. The stormed moved towards the house. We thought to seek shelter but for some reason did not. The funnel then was very close to the windo and the base of the vortex lifted towards us. I could see a little into the bottom of the tornado which was now pointed at the window. Then the tornado moved over the house. At this point, I heard a a rumbling — everything had been silent before that — and then the tornado was gone. Shortly afterwards, I woke up.
I was asleep when suddenly I heard the wind howling. At the same time my body felt pressure like from a magnet. I lie there terrified to move an inch. The pressure intensified and the wind was louder as seconds passed, about 45-90. I was afraid to get up. When it stopped I went into the other bedroom and asked..what was that, to learn what was what? I looked outside, nothing awry. I felt so much pressure and everything felt so real I still don’t know what it was, a demon? A sinkhole? A breakdown? Because I went through the physiological
I lived in tornado alley for 45 years, I had yearly tornado dreams. I have a cousin, whom I'm close to, who has had Cerebral Palsy since birth, and spent her life in a wheelchair. In one of my yearly tornadoe dreams, I saw it coming, and was TRYING to get her to a safe place, but was having a terrible time, because of the debris being dropped around us! Talk about TERRIFYING!!
A while ago I had a tornado dream, it was way diffrent from the others I have had. The dream before this recent one, I had almost died from the tornadoe because the only place I had to hide in was a tourist attraction on a poorly made gravel road. This recent dream was set up diffrent, it was not in my original town of which i am living in. Yet, it was plain, with a few streetbuildings here and there and mountains in the close and distant background. I was in a red streetbuilding, on the 3rd floor. We had recently tooken up our mother cats 5 kittens at our house in the physical world, so they had apeared in my dream aswell. I was putting them all to sleep when all of a sudden there was people screaming outside. I look outside and what had been sunny wwas now very dark clouds with pouring down rain. Everyone had started to pack their things and move to th next town over for a while or go on a road trip away from the mayhem. That would have been a good idea, but you see. My parents were not there with me in the dream neither brother nor sister. The only people i had recognized in the dream was some of my teammates on the soccer team. I realized that they had also no where to go and was stuck there with me too. We got down on ground level, and all of a sudden the only building that you could see was the tall red streetbuilding that I was currently living in. We all ran out into open area to discover debris being thrown here and there, and about 10 tornadoes swarming the area. Many where in the background of the plain, and about 4 tornadoes in our area, all of them taking hits at us. When all of a sudden my friend aishya said ",look out!", everyone else back away except for me. A tornado was coming straight towards me and i just stood still. I had gotten sucked in and then. Silence, everything was black, I could not hear because there was a loud sound of static, static that where coming from my ears from all of the loud noise. Right then, I had felt how it was like to die. When suddenly picture started coming back to my eyes and sound back to my ears. I was coming out of the tornado, but somehow I was okay. All of my friends where asking me if I was ok. And I replied with a "yes, i'm fine." But the tornadoes where still going on. We had all booked it to the nearest trainstation that was close by, and it was going to the next town over. When we had gotten there it was snowing, because that all it ever did in 'The Next Town Over'. Even so, we had still seen the approaching storm, and hopped back on the train, some stayed and the others came with me. We had gotten far out east, over to a house. We knocked on their door and they gladly let us in, we told them what had happened and we went to the basement. When we got inside the basement there were my kittens and the moma cat as if they were saying " Took you long enough." I asked the old couple how my cats had got there, and they said " They just came over to our door step, it was raining so we took them in." I was glad that they were ok. We sat out the rest of the night inside their basement telling of old stories and of who we were. The storm had passed over, and we were safe. I had then woken up. I have many other tornado dreams to be told but this was by far the most bizzare tornado dream I have ever had. I hope you liked it.
I had a dream last night that multiple tornadoes came at me.. toward the end of the dream them seem to all come together and head straight for me.. In my dream the only place I could find to hide was a tiny room underneath a small building… I knew I was going to die but when the tornado went over the small building I felt peace and then I woke up. Eh
Lauri please message me when you have something or need to know about my lifestyle I know that's probably has something to do with my dream probably should have messaged you instead of the comment but my memory isn't great by this time tomorrow I will have forget about my dream only to have it reoccur later on.
I always have recurring dreams of multiple tornadoes. one dream I was walking out in the country side and then a tornado miles away formed then one formed right next to me. another one a waterspout formed right infront of me. another one I was driving all over the place and tornadoes were forming EVERYWHERE one after another. another one I was walking and a tornado started to touchdown right above me! there is plenty more to tell.
I’m not easily impsersed. . . but that’s impressing me! 🙂
I was asleep when suddenly I heard the wind howling. At the same time my body felt pressure like from a magnet. I lie there terrified to move an inch. The pressure intensified and the wind was louder as seconds passed, about 45-90. I was afraid to get up. When it stopped I went into the other bedroom and asked..what was that, to learn what was what? I looked outside, nothing awry. I felt so much pressure and everything felt so real I still don’t know what it was, a demon? A sinkhole? A breakdown? Because I went through the physiological things. I heard the howl of the wind, my heart was racing, I felt like I was being pulled out of the bed. It got stronger and stronger. I worried about my dog, my daughter and her new baby. And then I learned nothing happened, there wasn’t even a weather alert. But I have Bern stressed. But this was REAL
One time I had a dream where I was at my school, Outside at a small center that students use to study, the sky was almost pitch black, but It was dark gray. I look out the window by myself and a tall, thin, black tornado is heading for where I am, Theres nothing being sucked into it, no clouds surrounding it, It just looked like a tornado made of black lines, but it was really close, I yell to everyone to come look at it, but it never hits us in the dream. The moon was huge and Yellow in the dream which made it even creepier. If you experienced it, you would most likely be freaking out.
I dreamed last night that I was at the park with I'm assuming my own new born baby. The sun was bright as ever, beautiful day. And a tornado came. I put the baby in my shirt, wrapped my legs around some bars and hung on for life to the baby… then I woke up. What could that mean???
I kepp having dreams about multiple tornadoes inside a house so thier like 10fttall and nothing bad ever really happens, and I'm always stuck running through the middle of them
I have dreamed about tornadoes fairly often for as long as I can remember. At first they were of me seeing tornadoes in the distance. I would find shelter and they would either go away or move in a different direction. Lately they have become more violent and very scary. I always seek refuge in a cellar, but they come straight towards me. They pick me up and I am swirling on the inside, but somehow know I'm going to be okay. Last night I had one where there were multiple tornadoes. I was yelling at everyone around me to seek shelter, but no one but me seemed concerned. I was in the back bedroom of a trailer and I was deafened by the sound of the coming tornado. All of a sudden I'm lifted. I look around me and I see walls, ceiling floor flying all around me. I am scared to death in my dream. All of a sudden I realize I'm dreaming and I'm trying to wake myself up but to no avail. I get flung out of the tornado, but I wake up before I hit the ground. My heart was pounding and I was scared to go back to sleep for fear I would re-enter this horrible nightmare. In my dreams, the tornadoes are always circling around me. With each full circle, they move closer and closer to me and get larger in size. Sometimes they've even had faces and speak to me in a scary voice. Other times it's like I'm in a movie and this crazy music plays while the tornado moves towards me. I'm scared to death of what could happen in these tornado dreams if they keep getting worse. Someone help me!!!!
🙂 love you too!
No worries Bella Blue! Whatever storm comes your way, I have your back. Love you!!
Patricia Leader
Tricia see! Lol-I had.the damn tornado dream last night, I looked it up because it's been a while
I had a dream about multiple tornadoes then later the people in the building with me left purposely without me and had plane tickets to Bali. I think it was related to friends I went out with that night.
i always have to since i was little! i think thats how im gonna go
I dream about tornadoes, disasters, getting murdered violently, all the time!
I have been dreaming of tornados constantly since I was a little girl, now 31 they come weekly and sometimes every night. My fear of tornados is paralyzing because I see them destroy everything on a daily basis in my dreams. I wish I could get rid of them once and for all as my sleep is not restfull at all.
I don't worry much….yet I have always dreamed about tornados for as long as Ivan remember….there's always more than one! Latest one was 5 white cloud tornados just spinning in a circle…..but most are always dark or black big tornados….sometimes I see them…sometimes I don't. Never hear the sound of the wind….it's always like if someone hit the mute button…..idk it's just weird for me!!
I had a dream where I was amongst family members a there was a tornado. I can imagine that I looked up and saw it forming but i wasn’t one, it was one after another. Very strange….
Last night I had a dream that my deceased boyfriend’s mother and I were in a car, trying to outrun 5 or 6 tornadoes, but we couldnt, so we got out of the car and hung onto huge boulder rocks and prayed. Her deceased mother was also there with us, at the rocks. Just as we thought the tornados had subsided and found a safe haven, they started up again, it felt so real that I could feel the wind on my face, and I woke up mumbling pprayers. I have started a new relationship with someone else & he is wonderful to me, we are also expecting a baby.
It was very scary .
I’ve had a dream of a tornado. It was my husband, my mother in law, and me going down the road and the tornado was after us, we were trying to out run it. And then I woke up. In a panic.
Let’s face it Candice, mother in Laws often create Torado’s for those to who they are in fact, MOther’s in Law to…”
Maybe the relationship can be cultivated by honest friendship ?
My husband and I have been having tornado dreams in the past couple of years. Several bats came into our houses as well. In my culture/religion, it is a belief that a tornado dream means a dead parent’s spirit is seeking help or is hungry. We have done everything we possibly can, but the dreams continue. It’s some relief to hear that our dreams may just indicate we both are uncertain about our future as we have been.
door and the closet started shaking and all of a sudden, the closet turned into a boat and we were headed away from the tornado and we were dropped of at a huge house escorted by a unknown male then I woke up. I do worry about a lot of things I can’t control but im clueless of what this could mean. I need help.
Sounds like A male friend of yours will lead you two to the acquisition of a larger home… Also avoid divorcing a person simply so you can marry a richer one who will buy you a bigger house… That will not end well for your soul’s Heart… Honestly it will never come to any good doing that. Maybe your husband knows a male friend, who will help you two find a bigger home, but the turbulence of the tornado represent the typical difficulties encountered in moving… Good Fortune to You 🙂
Every time I have a dream…..I look it up on the net. And as long as I can remember, I’ve been having tornadoes dreams. Maybe a couple of years…Maybe,a,few. In my dreams, my mom and there younger siblings are in it and they all four look for me to protect them while the tornado is coming. My first reaction to the tornado is when will it hit, if we hide in the basement, will we die??? But I always wake up before it hits. Now today, less than 2hours ago…. I had a tornado dream and this time it was me and my boyfriend and he wanted to hide in the closet since there wasnt a basement but I wanted to leave n a near by boat since we stayed near water. I felt we had enough time to get away. We hide n the closet and Shut the
I MEANT SKY
I OFTEN DREAM OF TORNANDOS LAST NIGHT I HAD A DREAM OF 5-6 TORNANDOS AND THEY WERE COMING UP OUT OF THE GROUND AND SHY AND MEETING IN THE MIDDLE AND TAKING OFF. AND WHEN I DREAM OF THESE I USUALLY HAVE MY 2 YEAR OLD IN THE DREAM WITH ME LAST NIGHT IN MY DREAM WE WENT TO THE NEIGHBORS HOUSE AND GOT IN THERE CELLAR AND WHEN WE GOT IN THIER THERE WERE BOBCATS AND ONE BEAR AND MY HORSES WERE TRYING TO GET INTO THE CELLAR TO.
Maybe the tornadoes will teach you to use punctuation.
Corrtni, Let’s Face It Honey… If you can not figure out when to pause and take a breath, but still complain to others that they are not all owing you to, then why should we feel responsible for a thing you damn well already know you need to do, and when you damn well know you need to actually do it ? I see complaints like yours all the time, and you think it makes you look clever ? Wrong, because not one of you has ever made claims about screwed up spell checkers, or A.I. censorship, that behaves in absurd and interrupting manners, just to confuse peoples efforts to simply talk to each other. Try this instead Corrtni… Use Honey Instead of Vinegar… Watch this…. Corrtni, you have such a pretty name.. Could you see it in your heart to share that beauty with others, when you make comments ? See Corrtni ? Not so hard, really …
I’ve had dreams of tornados all my life too. They use to scare me to death. That changed several years ago where I know it’s a tornado dream when the dream starts and I go looking for it. Once I find it I just watch in awe. I love those dreams now…though, of course, they don’t happen as often any more.
I am going to have to say that I do dream of tornadoes often. However, mine tend to deal with change. Meaning that there is a big change coming that I have no control over. For instance, one night I dreamt that a friend of mine and myself were standing on an upper floor of an office building looking out a floor-length window. Suddenly 3 or 4 tornadoes appeared in the parking lot. We were watching helplessly, as people were running and trying to get away from it. The tornadoes just hovered in the same spot in my dream. It was several months later that my company re-located to a 6 story office building with floor-length windows. We were placed on the third floor over-looking a parking lot. This has happened several times; different circumstances. But it always seems to signify some sort of change coming my way. I thought I would add this as I find it very helpful. I would assume that perhaps tornadoes have different meanings depending on the circumstance that you find yourself in the particular dream. I will say, that with my tornadoe dreams, I am very rarely, if ever, frightended. Hope this helps.
Well maamcadia nuts, how about that.