So I made a few changes, as suggested:
Storm Colour Study 2—Internet.jpeg
Books and leaves (although they look like petals) floating on the water
the base of the trees hopefully look like they're under water (this is still just a colour study so I didn't put much effort into the rendering)
I added a glimpse of the departing storm at the top right corner — I intend to make it more indigo than it looks here
I also added some tree shadow, which I've played around with many different compositions of and still think they look a bit lame. Not sure if they're adding anything.
It may still not scream Storm because I tried some felled trees and it just felt wrong. I like the idea of making the wings wet but that seems beyond the scope of a colour study so I'll leave that until it comes time to paint.
Have the changes I made helped? Should I push any of them more? Any thoughts on the trees' shadows?
Thank you!