Literally
And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
1 Kings 18:2
Spiritually
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD,
that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Amos 8:11
"The Canaanites worshiped Baal as the sun god and as the storm god—he is usually depicted holding a lightning bolt—who defeated enemies and produced crops....Baal dies every summer under the
excessive heat and drought. Baal however, with the help of sexual and bloody rituals, comes back to life to defeat Mot for the cooler autumn weather and the fall rain. Thus the chaotic weather was blamed on the struggle between Baal and Mot, which could only be pacified through cultic prostitution on the one hand and strict asceticism on the other. Thus, in addition to sexual abandon, the worship of Baal also incorporated harsh ascetic practices into their nature worship as well. Ecstatic pleasure and bloody pain were used to propitiate the nature gods for the sake of fair weather (1 Kings 18:25-29). 
Days of Elijah....
1) Calamities came
2) God's people (Elijah) were blamed
3) Baal (sun/nature) worship showdown on Mt. Carmel
1- Dragon (Ahab) political secular powers of world
2- Beast (Jezebel) Papal Rome (Harlot of Revelation)
3- False Prophet (prophets of Baal at Carmel) Apostate Protestantism
