Bishop Brennan

I'd like to echo this sentiment. I'm looking forward to being woken up tomorrow morning to the sound of heavy rain lashing against the window, and then realising that I don't have to go to work........ Plus, at risk of repeating myself, but we desperately need all this rain. Might as well happen now rather than the middle of July. Bish

Judging by the radar, the rain is now edging up from the south-east - pretty much exactly as forecasted. I can't imagine a solitary delivery will be bowled anywhere in the county championship tomorrow. Bish

I'm always intrigued when these sort of "dry slots" appear in forecasts. What do we think this might be down to - I'm guess a slight sheltering effect due to the higher ground in the north? Bish

Indeed, it seems the far south may escape the worst of the conditions. It'll still be wet & wild for a time though. Bish

Eskimo, am I right in saying that the large area of rain snaking up from France is the beginnings of this system? The Will It Rain Today radar (http://www.raintoday.co.uk) shows this very clearly if you scroll down far enough. Bish

I disagree. This type of system is quite an unusual occurrence for the time of year. The forecasted rainfall accumulations combined with strong winds certainly make it a noteworthy event IMO. Please continue Eskimo. Bish

It absolutely belted it down here in Solihull for about four hours from 08:00am this morning. It seems to be letting up a little now, although there are some beefy showers further south which could affect us later in the afternoon. Sunday sounds like it could well be a total washout. Personally I'm enjoying all this rain, it's far more interesting than a week of nothingness. Plus the country really needs it as well. Bish

Solihull is often referred to as the Milan of the Midlands. Bish

The scorecards from the county championship tell their own story today: full day of cricket at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, compared with no play at Chelmsford, Bristol, and - but of course - the Oval. Says it all, really Bish

lol that sounds like a good plan! Who needs Storm Chase when you can have just as much fun in your own home? Bish

I was under the impression that Sunday may well be exceptionally wet for most of the country - unless the forecast has changed from this morning? Bish

Yep, it's all turning out to be a bit of an anti-climax isn't it? I was pretty confident we'd see something memorable this afternoon. Still time I guess, but I the bottom line is we just haven't seen enough sunshine to set things off. Bish

That'll be the one that completely drenched me ten minutes ago, then. Note to self: don't go for a lunchtime walk round Solihull Park when the clouds on the horizon are black & evil Bish

Yep, not much going on at the moment, for the time being anyway. Hopefully, the showery activity over South Wales will be heading our way very soon, and may well intensify in the process Bish

Ideally what we want to see is some sunshine this morning, to push temperatures up and hopefully trigger some downpours from lunchtime onwards. But of course these things are always rather hit or miss............let's keep our fingers crossed. Bish

Wow, I've just spotted that the West Midlands has a severe weather warning in place for today Looks like most of the risk is restricted to the North and West of the region, but I'm *just* inside the danger zone. From the Met Office site: "Slow moving heavy and locally thundery downpours with a risk of hail are likely through most of Thursday. The heaviest rain will be accompanied by strong and gusty winds. The public should be aware that the heavy rain may lead to localised surface water flooding and poor driving conditions." Confusingly, there also seems to be a warning in place for the East Midlands, but it doesn't seem to be covered in the graphics? Bish

Yes but look at what is following behind it - some incredibly heavy pulses. Scattered at the moment, but likely to develop as the morning progresses. Bish PS at risk of stating the bloomin' obvious, but it's raining here in Solihull

Yes, it's actually quite pleasant at the moment. Hazy sunshine and some broken cloud, although the breeze is rather chilly. Bish

Big rumble of thunder here in Solihull, and the second heavy downpour of the day so far. Bish

Heavy rain shower in Solihull just now, although no thunder (so far). It feels noticably chillier than it did an hour or so ago. Bish

Absolutely exceptional pictures, thanks for sharing them with us Brad Bish

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we have blizzard conditions at this precise moment. Absolutely astonishing. Bish

Blimey, it's actually snowing quite hard here in Solihull. Huge flakes, although it isn't sticking as yet. Bish

Yep, pretty much the same here as well today AJ. Didn't see a cloud in the sky after mid-morning. Winter (whatever is left of it) can bugger off now, as far as I'm concerned! B) Bish

I've just been watching the start of Independence Day on E4+1, the bit where the alien spaceships arrive in huge fireballs.............during the first ad break I switched on Sky News and read reports of a fireball spotted in the skies over Northern England! Bish