East_England_Stormchaser91

Not a lot will top the 4th July 2015! Still ranks as one of the best night outbreaks since 2001 or 2005. From one tiny Speck off Bournemouth to a full blown monster in minutes!

That would be the night of my failed chase! Low level muck quickly invaded from the North Sea and totally impeded the strobing I could see heading towards Norwich. I got right near Lowestoft, but by then it was too late! Stormchasing isn’t actually an easy hobby! You’re met with many challenges and dicey situations, especially here in the UK.

Very interesting. Usually a lightning Cloud needs a good height with a healthy updraft to be producing lightning of a decent level, as this enables the ice crystals to produce more potential for a discharge. They were more than likely elevated CB’s. This makes sense, as summer 2006 was fantastically plumey and I’ve often seen lightning from relatively non dramatic looking clouds in a plume setup. Usually early in the morning.

Gutted that I missed out on chasing Sundays storms. Work constraints unfortunately got in the way. My eyes are now lighting up at the prospects of this weekend into next week. Numerous runs in the medium outlook show some terrific MCS clusters heading N out of France, with a bit of wind shear too by the look of it. One to watch for sure.

Wow look at the updrafts on that thing. Absolutely stunning.

Well, I chose not to chase in the end, as the initiation was further SW than what I was going for, and the nearest storms were to the West of Birmingham and the M6. That would’ve been a huge distance to travel, and added traffic would’ve made chasing them potentially very challenging, given they were heading NW (even further from home every minute)!! Fair play to those who saw activity today. It all happened and seemed to scurry away pretty darn quick from what I made of it on radar!

Seeing flutters of T Cu skirting NNW to the West. Some of them becoming Turkey towers and then collapsing. Plenty of thermals and energy below this strong cap. Just need that one to punch through and then away we go.

Hoping this might be the case, as they’ll likely be more discrete and make for fantastic viewing. I’m probably going to bet on the initiation happening around Birmingham though and maybe up towards the peaks, due to favourable Orographical lifting helping to trigger things, and then expanding towards Stoke and Cheshire, which in my opinion will be the sweet spots later on.

Looks very much like a repeat of June and August 2020 this setup. Just stepped outside now, and it felt like I had stepped off a plane in Italy or Greece! Very warm from the get go. If I get the chance, I might try and head towards the midlands later and try and get some shots of what could be some epic unimpeded views of CB’s and hopefully some decent lightning. The main area I’d go for if I was to really push the distance would be Birmingham / Stoke / Chester areas. However, as it’s high risk, and CAPE looks positively nuts, this may well be justified. I’ll see.

It’s often a high risk game for the U.K. to get the real proper storms, as they often come with a strong cap (high 850’s and lack of landmass to sufficiently heat and overcome the inversion, unlike the near continent). But explosive CAPE stored below it. Getting the windshear is also a challenge too without masses of high level cloud blocking out the insolation! Cold 500hpa temps and high 850’s are usually the best result for many, which deliver the elevated storms.

It’ll be quite an uplift I tell you!

It’s been exceptionally bad. Feels very weird that we’ve barely registered a 20c here and it’s already hurtling towards mid June! In 2018 for example, May was delivering 25+c day after day. Could this turn out to be a year without a summer? I do question it at this rate!

These past 3 weeks have easily been the most monotonous, dull and drab 3 weeks I think I’ve ever experienced. Wasting probably the best time of the year to generate convective activity to featureless, grey and downright chilly Northeasterlies. Apart from a brief interlude of a plume, (which is now getting watered down on each run) the same pattern looks to resume shortly after. The worst possible weather rut to get stuck in is this one.

Rihanna and that cursed “Umbrella” song was where it all started. 2007 and that “barbecue summer” which went spectacularly wrong!

You wouldn’t believe it out West, but this may well go down as one of the dullest Mays on record in these parts. I’ve barely seen the sun all week here in Norfolk. With a stiff NE wind and temps no higher than 14-15c, it’s been utterly woeful! Possibly one of the coolest Mays I’ve ever experienced too, and there’s been a few of them in my lifetime. This rivals 2013 and 2021 easily.

My god, some of the outputs into June are bordering on ridiculous. Full on countrywide frosts!? Early May was ok with a few P-M airmass thunderstorms, but seriously, this has to be one of the most tedious Mays I’ve ever experienced. Even May 2012 pulled off a late cracking hot spell of weather. It really does feel like early October in this Quasi permanent NE wind that looks set to continue well on into June. Zero plume activity at all! May 1999, 2006, 2017 and 2018 were what Mays should be like!

A complete reverse plume today then. Some rare English exports.

Some rare Southward moving storms which are quite potent. Reminds me of June 13th 2014 or somewhere around that time!

Hope those in Cambs/Lincs are making the most of the storms, there’s a whole load of dreaded sea mist charging towards you lovely sight of the anvils behind it.

Just when I thought it was game over..

Cam at Hunstanton showing the convergence zone over Lincs. Some brilliant anvils visible!

Already towering cumulus from the get go, seems to be almost stationary too, with variable cloud movements. This has the recipe for a fair few funnel clouds I would say, across the board! Flash flooding a likely issue too.

I’m right under that! Torrential rain and a few recent flashes. Been spoilt over the past week!

Within 10 minutes, these have matured like fine wine! Even trying to spawn daughters on the side and back edge.

Cap is properly getting punched through now. The anvil from the S is more or less over my head now! Just had a terrific peel of thunder from it whilst in the garden with a beer. Doesn’t get more perfect to be fair! Sun is still out.