Good afternoon and thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

For weather effects, unfortunately there is little we can do to alter that. If you are on PC, you can adjust some of the graphics settings (most notably Glare and Transparent Lighting Quality). You can also adjust the brightness and the Gamma Correction. This may not resolve the issue but it may help with the thunderstorms a little.

You can turn off the battle effects as well in Character Configuration > Control Settings > Character. Here you can turn the battle effects off so you don't need to be zoomed out constantly.

We hope we can be of assistance in helping you enjoy the exciting world of Final Fantasy XIV!