Thunder cloud and rain
Also called THUNDER CLOUD AND RAIN, U+26C8, weather emoji
Unicode character. A code point, not a station model or a forecast icon.
Weather charactersThunder cloud and rain meaning
U+26C8 THUNDER CLOUD AND RAIN is a Unicode character. A thunderstorm forecast is a different symbol, and WWIS also lists thundershowers apart.
At a glance
- System
- Unicode character
- Code point
- U+26C8
- Official name
- THUNDER CLOUD AND RAIN
- Not the same as
- A forecast icon or a station-model sign
U+26C8, a cloud with thunder and rain in the name. Not a thunderstorm forecast icon.
The name. Unicode name THUNDER CLOUD AND RAIN, U+26C8. The picture on a phone is the vendor’s. The character is the code point.
Where it comes from
The official name binds cloud, thunder, and rain into one character. Forecasts do not have to. WWIS separates thunderstorms from thundershowers, and rain from both. A lightning character without rain is U+1F329. A station reports a thunderstorm with an observing code. None of those is required to be this glyph.
The line drawing is original to this cabinet. It is not an agency logo, a vendor icon, or the emoji for the same idea.
Weather
What it means
Paste it when a message needs a stormy cloud. Do not paste it as the symbol NOAA or WMO issued. The thunder page says what a forecast means by thunder. This page says what the character is called.
Variants
Vendor art
Apple, Google, and other vendors draw one code point in different colors and shapes. None of those drawings is a WMO icon, and none of them is the line art on this page.
Worth knowing
- U+26C8 is the Unicode name THUNDER CLOUD AND RAIN. Vendors may draw it as a color emoji. The character is still the code point. Source
Questions
Is ⛈ the thunderstorm symbol?
It is the character THUNDER CLOUD AND RAIN. Forecast thunderstorm icons are drawn by each service, and WWIS lists thunderstorms and thundershowers separately.
How is it different from the cloud-and-lightning emoji?
U+26C8 includes rain in the official name. U+1F329 is CLOUD WITH LIGHTNING.
Near this
- ThunderstormA forecast icon for thunder and lightning. Not a decorative bolt, and not ordinary rain.
- Cloud with lightningU+1F329, lightning and a cloud. Not a thunderstorm forecast, and not rain.
- RainA forecast icon for rain expected in a period. Not a shower, not drizzle, and not the station-model sign.
- Cloud with rainU+1F327 CLOUD WITH RAIN. The character people paste instead of a forecast. It is still a character.
Sources
Named when the entry depends on a text, a date, or a standard. Catalog numbers are not invented.
Your margin
Private. It stays in this browser and never joins the canon.
symbol.wiki, edited as Sigilla. Last reviewed 18 October 2026. A reading of public tradition, not a ruling.