First the raging gale drowned the noise (7)
I believe the answer is:
leading
'first' is the definition.
(leading can mean first or main)
'raging gale drowned the noise' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'noise' could be 'din' (din can mean a loud noise or disturbance) and 'din' is found within the answer.
an anagram of 'gale' is 'leag' which is located in the left over letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for leading that I've seen before include "In the vanguard" , "In first place; space between lines of print" , "In pole position" , "Aligned in front" , "Foremost" .)