The Roman empire may have been victim to it, Percy French was inspired by it, and for the past few weeks holidaymakers in Ireland have been painfully aware of it.
In a lecture entitled "The Weather: A Formative Influence on Culture and Civilisation", one of Ireland's best known meteorologists, Brendan McWil liams, told the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, last night that the weather impinged not only on individuals but on the march of nations.
In AD 406, Mr McWilliams said, Europe's climate had begun to deteriorate and a very severe winter proved to be a boon to the enemies of Rome. That year, for the first time in centuries, the Rhine froze and while the Romans still controlled the bridges and crossing points along the great river, the Vandals were able to use the ice to advance westwards.
Other "climatic determinists" had looked at the events in Europe during the 1930s and pointed out that in Britain, with its largely equable maritime climate, there was little support for fascism, whereas in Spain, Germany, Italy and Austria, which were subject to continental weather extremes, fascism had an easy victory, he said.
"By way of explanation, it is suggested that the absence of seasonal extremes may help to foster a more relaxed attitude to life, there being no need to make elaborate plans to cope with long, freezing winters and torrid summers. "But where the climate can be harsh at times, the pace of life may be driven by the seasons; the enforced discipline of timely preparation for extreme conditions may incline the local populace to the political right," Mr McWilliams said.
In 1887, he went on, the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano sent clouds of dust and debris into the upper atmosphere. This led to spectacular sunsets which captivated Percy French and moved him to paint watercolours.
Brendan McWilliams writes the daily Weather Eye column in The Irish Times and is a former deputy director of Met Eireann.