Ready to get started? Open the free Storm Effects App here.
Want to turn a normal photo into a dramatic storm?
This Storm Effects Photo Tool lets you add realistic storm weather to almost any outdoor photograph. You can create anything from a light shower to a powerful thunderstorm by combining rain, clouds, lightning and atmospheric effects. Every adjustment is shown instantly, making it easy to experiment until the scene looks just right.
Upload your image
Click Upload Image or drag a picture into the upload area. Outdoor photographs usually give the best results, especially those with plenty of visible sky, open landscapes, streets or buildings.
If you want to start again at any point, click Reload Original Image to restore your uploaded photo and remove every storm effect.
Choose a starting preset
The built-in presets provide a quick way to create different weather conditions. You can begin with Light Rain, Heavy Rain, Thunderstorm, Lightning Strike, Dark Storm or Monsoon, then fine-tune every setting yourself.
The presets are simply starting points. Every control remains available, so you can create anything from a brief summer shower to a dramatic storm.
Build your own storm
The rain controls let you adjust the amount of rain, its direction, drop size and softness. You can create gentle rainfall, windy showers or a heavy downpour.
Sheet Lightning produces a broad flash that lights the sky without showing a visible bolt. Forked Lightning adds a realistic lightning strike that can be moved across the picture, with controls for its length, width, glow and branching.
Cloud Density, Storm Darkness, Wet Atmosphere and Cold Colour Shift help create the mood of an approaching storm, while Contrast Reduction can soften distant scenery for a more convincing result.
Add the finishing touches
The Wet Lens control adds soft water droplets near the camera, while Storm Vignette darkens the edges of the picture to make the weather feel more dramatic. The Storm Centre control lets you move the main focus of the effect across the image.
If you are unsure where to begin, the Random Storm button generates a different combination of settings that you can adjust further if you wish.
Download the finished image
When you are happy with the result, choose JPG, PNG or WebP and download your edited image. The original photograph is left unchanged, so you can always return and create a completely different storm effect whenever you like.