Snakes shed tears when exposed to the elements (9)
I believe the answer is:
windswept
'exposed to the elements' is the definition.
'snakes shed tears' is the wordplay.
'snakes' becomes 'winds'.
'shed tears' becomes 'wept' (I've seen this before).
'winds'+'wept'='WINDSWEPT'
'when' is the link.
(Other definitions for windswept that I've seen before include "affected by gale" , "suffering a blow" , "Bedraggled" , "having dishevelled look" , "blown away" .)