[Kransha]

Ah, a most intriguing topic on the subject of symbolism. If I might insert my uneeded pair of cents, and sense as well, I shall. I find that there is a lot of use of the description of weather by characters, most often in song, that sets a mood, portrays a like or dislike, perhaps a racial/ethnic distinction. Weather is thought of in different terms by different folk, and not necessarily because of their experiences with it. The heat/cold equation is one that varies because of the climate of a certain place. Cruel Redhorn bears a very ominous chill, but most evil things in Tolkien are parallel with 'heat' rather. Mordor, as one would think, is a very hot, red, and sweltering place. The subtle coldness of wind, though, seems to be disliked by the Dwarves in The Hobbit based on their song.

The wind was on the withered heath/But in the forest stirred no leaf:
There shadows lay by night and day/And dark things silent crept beneath.
The wind came down from mountains cold/And like a tide it roared and rolled;
The branches groaned, the forest moaned/And leaves were laid upon the mould.
The wind went on from West to East/All movement in the forest ceased,
But shrill and harsh across the marsh/Its whistling voices were released.
The grasses hissed, their tassles bent/The reeds were rattling -- on it went
O'er shaken pool under the heavens cool/Where racing clouds were torn and rent.
It passed the lonely Mountain bare/And swept above the dragon's lair:
There black and dark lay boulders stark/And flying smoke was in the air.
It left the world and took its flight/Over the wide seas of the night,
The moon set sail upon the gale/And stars were fanned to leaping light.

So, the Dwarves may be a bit adverse to cold in the form of wind. Again, one must assume that the heat of Smaug's breath has also made them wary. Maybe they're just not easily pleased. In the book, I do not believe the temperature in Moria is spoken of, but Gimli sounds like Dwarves who inhabit the place enjoy it. Gondorians, on the other hand, equate wind, and perhaps cold climates differently. Two songs which hinge on this, or perhaps portray it, are as follows. The first is a Song of the Fields of Lebennin, which talks of wind from the sea. Being in close proximity to the sea and the Anduin river, watery weather might be preferred by Gondorians. The second verse is Aragorn's song about Gondor, which also mentions wind and rain. Both verses make wind and the somewhat dreary atmosphere that it provides out to be very glorious and radiant. See if you can tell what I mean here.

Silver flow the streams from Celos to Erui
In the green fields of Lebennin!
Tall grows the grass there. In the wind from the Sea
The white lilies sway,
And the golden bells are shaken of mallos and alfirin
In the green fields of Lebennin,
In the wind from the Sea!

Gondor! Gondor, between the Mountains and the Sea!
West Wind blew there; the light upon the Silver Tree
Fell like bright rain in gardens of the Kings of old.
O proud walls! White towers! O wingéd crown and
throne of gold!
O Gondor, Gondor! Shall Men behold the Silver Tree,
Or West Wind blow again between the Mountains and the Sea?

On the other hand, I go back to the racial weather distinction with another verse. Hobbits, the fair little folk, seem to be people who would enjoy a warm spring or summer or fall, as most beings of light on Middle-Earth would. Of course, most don't seem 'adverse' to the cold, or the winter. On Caradhras, Legolas (the elf, obviously), talks of fetching the sun, but in a jovial fashion, and he, a light-hearted individual, shows nothing near the same dislike of wintry weather as the Halflings. One example is in Bilbo Baggin's quatrain poem in which he equates winter with evil, wild things, talking, albeit briefly, of the fact that the natural beauty which Hobbits relish has been stolen from them.

When winter first begins to bite
and stones crack in the frosty night,
when pools are black and trees are bare,
'tis evil in the Wild to fare.

This leads one to thinking about what these different weather events entail. If you consider different seasons to be 'weather' then there's even more symbolism to be found. There's even more to be found in Tolkien's verses, but I am unable to locate the appropriate sections. I may edit this post or follow-up to it when I do. There is a lot of light and dark-hearted reference to weather symbolism, and plenty to astronomical things, the which I cannot fathom. It would seem that Tolkien has an affinity for flooding and sinking, which was how he disposed of Numenor, Beleriand, and the Ring of Isengard. Water, in the form of wave and rain, seems to be oft used as a weapon, an obstacle, or a representation.