Anvils in the Sky

Yep, I know. Just me with my pessimist head on in the last couple of hours. (À la Worzel Gummidge.)

Completely unexpected, and random, flash/bang here. Interrupted my Kronenbourg drinking it did!

Just spotted your location. What a fantastic name!

Don't worry too much - the starter wasn't all that. Almost sent it back to be honest, and told them to try again...

I'm trusting what Sparkicle is saying!

Sun back out here too. Ground already dry. It's like being in Salou! Temp back up to 24.3°. (Only fell to about 23 during the "storm" though!) All eyes 'vers le littoral français'...

Moving off now. Let's hope it was just to whet our appetites for what's in store later!

Thunder over Rainham. Any other Medway peeps catching it?

Don't worry - the rain has caused all the noisemakers to rush indoors!

Massive drops too.

This is unbelievable. It has been quiet here all day. So I go into the back garden to listen out for thunder as the sky is getting darker and darker. And what happens? One side of me starts hammering, the other side's two kids decide to go in the paddling pool and start screaming, a few doors up starts mowing his lawn, and the chap over the back starts sawing!!! And to add insult to injury, planes are suddenly flying low right over me!! How am I supposed to listen out for thunder?!

Old-fashioned way of doing it, I know, but the Medium Wave is starting to provide some crackles. Sky darkening to my south and south-west now.

After a few hours of almost clear skies, they seem to be getting a little more 'interesting' here:

Not sure if that was thunder on the Bognor webcam or not? (Could've just been a gust of wind.) The last family on the beach are packing up though...

The anticipation and not knowing is killing me already! But, yes, if I had to choose between an afternoon or a night-time storm.......the latter would win hands down. This latest spell of potentially thundery weather is but only in its infancy surely?

Wow. Could be fun for those on P&O from Dover to Calais later!

Sounds fun - for a storm lover like me, anyway! And what you caught was just the very edge of the huge France/Benelux cell. Wonder what it was like right in the centre of it? Temperature going up every time I look. Now 26.1°. Met Office, give them their due, have now updated their forecast for today for my location. Gone is the 'light rain, 21°' - to be replaced by 'light rain, 23°'!

Met Office home page STILL showing 21° and light rain for my location today. Currently a sunny 25.7°! Well, the Caen / Cherbourg / Le Havre storm has definitely deviated off its north-easterly track. So should we be watching the stuff brewing over the Nantes area instead?

If storms do hit that part of the coast, not sure we'll hear the thunder via that webcam due to all those seagulls squawking! Edit: both Blitzortung and Sat24 seem to suggest to me the Caen storm is indeed starting to head more northwards. Not as good for here, but better for seeing on the Bognor Regis webcam!

The Bognor Regis webcam might be worth watching. (If you hover your cursor over the image, you get the full screen option. Better than the postage stamp!) http://www.bognorregisbeach.co.uk/live

Is this any good? http://www.sat24.com/en/fr You can click on any area, and it zooms in for you. (Lightning on/off option down in the bottom right-hand corner.)

First strikes leaving the French coast between Cherbourg and Le Havre. The storm appears to be heading our way at the moment. But let's see what the Channel decides to do to it. Meanwhile, it has shot up to a very humid 25.1° here, under almost clear skies. (Just some mid-high level stuff moving up from the south as I type.)

Morning South-Easterners / East Anglians, Completely overcast half an hour ago, but sun has now risen above the edge of the dark cloud banks to my east. So we can see the yellow ball here, but I suspect it won't be visible a couple of miles to the east. A few chinks of blue appearing to the west. Temperature currently 19.4°. I'm too far west to have heard any of the booms or seen any of the flashes the East Kent folks are talking about. But all windows in my south-east facing house are now wide open!! Going to be an interesting day, I'm sure. Heartbreak for some, joy for others? (But boy oh boy am I jealous of my Belgian mate who went home for a fortnight on Thursday, to Tournai, just over the border from Lille. He's slap bang in the middle of Estofex's zone 3!) Lee

Just walked back from the local. And all I can say is it's almost like being in the Med (-iterranean, NOT -way). T-shirt/shorts on, almost clear sky (some haziness blocking out the faintest stars), and a temperature, at gone 11pm, of 19.2°. Very pleasant indeed. All eyes on tomorrow now...

And I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn I'm one Storm Freak who prefers after dark thunderstorms! (I know it seems this particular new boy is always trying to pick a fight with you! But I'm pretty placid really, I promise!) However tomorrow shapes up, it does seem most of our gardens are going to get some much-needed rain. But hopefully not a complete inundation... Lee