The text says the LORD hurled a great wind on the sea, and a mighty tempest arose Jonah 1:4. The storm is presented as God’s response while Jonah is fleeing by ship Jonah 1:3–4.
In Jonah 1:4–7, a violent storm suddenly threatens the ship. The sailors panic, each calling on his own god and throwing cargo overboard to survive, while Jonah is found sleeping deep in the vessel. The captain confronts him and urges him to pray, hoping some deity will pay attention and spare them. This scene follows Jonah’s decision to flee by sea instead of carrying out his mission (1:1–3). The narrative now shifts from Jonah’s deliberate movement downward into the ship to a crisis that overtakes everyone aboard.
Jonah 1:4–7 presents Yahweh as actively involved in the events at sea: the storm is not random in the story’s framing but is sent by Yahweh (explicit text claim). The danger is severe enough that the ship is pictured as near breaking apart.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Jonah 1:4, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
4But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was likely brake up.