Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
There are two hurricanes that happen in Three Times Lucky—one in the past when Mo is found by the Colonel, and one when she's racing to find Miss Lana before Robert Slate hurts her. As Mo and Dale go to find her loved ones, the storm starts to rage:
Dale pumped like he could out-pedal the storm, me balanced on his handlebars, the storm's flat, angry hands shoving us along the blacktop. Dale stood up on the pedals, panting as the front wheel began to squeak. (24.1)
But even though the hurricanes are scary and overwhelming, they both bring together Mo's little family. In the first instance, Mo is an infant and is literally pushed downstream on a raft by a hurricane until the Colonel finds her after crashing his car near Tupelo Landing. After that, the Colonel and Miss Lana take her in and raise her as their own.
In the case of the second hurricane, Mo's family has just been torn apart by Robert Slate. But as the hurricane rages on, she rushes into danger to find the Colonel and Miss Lana, working to bring them all together again. And wouldn't you know it—she succeeds.
Some storms destroy, but in this book, hurricanes swirl with love. Aw.