Stormy Weather

[BBMmk2]

Thunder and lightning yesterday and short sharp showers today, at the time of writing. sunny with a lot of cloud

[Serial_Apologist]

Thunder and lightning yesterday and short sharp showers today, at the time of writing. sunny with a lot of cloud

From the appearance of the sky to my north, and the ominous rumbles emitting therefrom, I would say that AM51's part of London is right now in the process of being washed away!

[Ockeghem's Razor]

Here on the Stirlingshire/West Lothian border Bertha has proved to be a 'brutum fulmen'. Winds are no more than typical for an autumn day and the local burn is nowhere near being in spate. Further north, however, it seems to have been pretty damaging as the BBC News website shows--staggering photograph of a sinkhole or landslip with water cascading over the edge and a group of pigs standing around looking down into the abyss as if contemplating joining their Gadarene mates.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Mixed day in the Pennines today - plenty of warm sunshine; so much that just when you can resist no further, you're tempted out. Ten minutes' walk from the house and the heavens open. I've been soaked twice today. Not unpleasurable - but none of the sunshine has been forecast: it's supposed to be non-stop rain all day.

[Serial_Apologist]

An unusual phenomenon in British weather, but one I've seen often in footage from abroad, particularly America and Australia: arc lightning. Just a moment ago I've been watching a large thunderstorm passing to the south of here, with forked lightning every few minutes making itself just about visible through a curtain of very heavy rain, about six miles distant (30 seconds between flash and rumble). Where I am located we were right under the edge of the anvil spreading out north from the storm; I was caught unawares, looking north, by a vivid flash, followed four seconds later by an enormous, ground shaking crash of thunder. The strike must have been a very powerful one, connecting the ground (or more probably a tree in woods just to the east) to the edge of the anvil overhang, probably 24,000 feet above.

Something similar happened 12 or so years ago when I was visiting Maidstone - a sudden huge thunder clap in brilliant sunshine that startled everyone in the vicinity, from a storm rumbling many miles away in the North Downs. We were extremely fortunate not to have got hit!

[amateur51]

From the appearance of the sky to my north, and the ominous rumbles emitting therefrom, I would say that AM51's part of London is right now in the process of being washed away!

Your timing is spot-on S_A We had a sudden deterioration in the weather, darkness, the wind picked up dramatiocally and then it started to tip down apparently at about 60 degrees, lots of hail and sudden bursts of lighting and thunder. Very dramatic & I was thrilled to be in my local charity shop at the time

All the small children in the shop were thrilled by these events which went on for maybe twenty minutes. The roads were flooded very quickly and it took quite a while for the water to run off. It was a miracle that I got home without being drenched.

[mercia]

about six miles distant (30 seconds between flash and rumble).

that's a useful little formula. So 15 seconds = 3 miles ? [I had thought it should be a greater distance]

[mangerton]

that's a useful little formula. So 15 seconds = 3 miles ? [I had thought it should be a greater distance]

Very useful. Based on the fact that the speed of sound in dry air is 1125 feet per second. And of course there are 5280 feet in a mile.

[Serial_Apologist]

that's a useful little formula. So 15 seconds = 3 miles ? [I had thought it should be a greater distance]

It's roughly right, taking account of how long the light takes to reach you too. And in any case most except for the loudest thunder isn't audible much beyond 20 miles, except on a calm day, away from ground and overhead traffic noise - wherever that is/was!

[BBMmk2]

Yesterday, another storm hit us! Torrential rain, thunder and lightning! Today, thankfully, sunny but a brisk wind.

[aeolium]

Possibly the peak night for Perseid viewing tonight, clear sky permitting (and despite the near full moon):

http://www.popastro.com/meteor/activity/activity.php?id_pag=228

[BBMmk2]

Just wondering if autumn has come early, or is it because of the back end of hurricane Bertha, the Jetstream has been put out of quilter?

[Serial_Apologist]

Just wondering if autumn has come early, or is it because of the back end of hurricane Bertha, the Jetstream has been put out of quilter?

Yes, I think that might well have happened. It looks as if we have to kiss goodbye to any more heatwaves for this year. (When was the last one, I hear someone cry?). Canada, which always expects to have much hotter summers than ours, has not experienced such this year. It is almost as though the weather pattern has never properly gone back to its normal default since that cold pool of air shifted south from the Arctic for the entirety of last winter.

Right now here we have a confused-looking sky, with a couple of thunder heads, one about 10 miles to the south, another far away to the north-east, at a rather stifling 19 degrees.

75 minutes later: Big forked lightning flashes a mile to the north ever 20 seconds or so as I write, (oh, one right overhead!) back end of roll cloud heading right this way whew!

[BBMmk2]

Whew indeed!! We had a lovely day down at Eastbourne, with my son and his lovely gf. Saw the two Lancasters!! The Red Arrows!! Wow!!! :) Blue sky as well so was able to see the quantrails clearly!! :)

[Serial_Apologist]

Saw the two Lancasters!!

Clearly one too many!