precursor

PRECURS'OR, n. [L. proecursor, supra.] A forerunner; a harbinger; he or that which precedes an event and indicates its approach; as Jove's lightnings, the precursors of thunder.

A cloud in the southwest, in winter, is often the precursor of a snow storm. A hazy atmosphere in the west, at sunset, is often the precursor of a cloudy or of a rainy day.

Evil thoughts are the invisible, airy precursors of all the storms and tempests of the soul.