Windblade

Convergence zone shifting north eastwards now a bit. That's all folks (for my chances).

I need to move!

Oh look the sun's just come out! God, this can be a very frustrating hobby!

Hey buddy. Weird, I'm closer to the storms than you but I haven't heard anything? What time did you hear the rumbles? I might have been driving at the time. I've got the window open here just to hear anything distant! I'm desperate now after having missed out on all the action bar one flash and bang a couple of months ago.

Small rain shower just as I was leaving Shooters Hill about midday. I'm in Welling now, roads are dry round here, skies look pretty nice but no sparks or rumbles. Looks like all the action is once again missing me, even though we are actually getting cells pass over. Just doesn't seem to be any trigger around here this year.

Yep, looking like an exciting next few days coming up. I wonder if storms will once again fire north and south of me, or run parallel to my location? So far this year I've had one flash and bang at Shooters Hill and that's it. Literally everything else that was forecast has either not materialised at all or come within a whisker and died. Still, it's relatively early in the season - I remember last year it was a very similar start to the season for me and things didn't get going around here until mid summer onwards (end of July - beginning of August) yet by the end of September I'd witnessed 17 storms/thunder days. Hoping for a similar year although I hope I won't have to wait as long for it to get going!

Haven't looked at any charts but Jo's forecast for the upcoming bank holiday weekend and the next one is interesting. Could maybe be some thundery stuff coming, still too far out yet to be sure but signs are certainly sounding a bit more promising than of late.

Very similar forecasts for today. I'm not expecting much but if there's any chance at all I'll take it and hope for the best!

Nothing happening here. Had some lovely moderate rain this morning which cleared and some decent convection this afternoon but nothing resembling stormy weather.

Yeah, I'm not banking on that - especially round here. Looks a bit drab, Upper midlands could be the sweet spot if there's any deep convection mixed in with that band of rain but overall it looks a lot like just standard rain. Lets see though - you never know.

Looks like a real boring week coming up unless things change.

Well, gotta say both Netweather And Convective Weather were pretty much spot on with their forecasts yesterday. All action was in the far south east corner which is pretty much exactly where there was the greatest risk. I did have a very short but heavy rain shower when I pulled up at home after work. Had one distant rumble from it. Frustrating day for me though - had visible cells all around me with clearly defined visible anvils but absolutely no trigger here. That's been the story for most of the week so far round here.

Was working when I posted earlier. Just checked it now and is still working at this time. Looks like the south east coast corner got hit. We have visible cb's all over, but no trigger. Again. This is starting to get tedious. Oh my.

Loads of heavy cells coming over one after another yesterday...absolutely no sparks at all. No trigger. Similar story earlier in the week as well. However, a quick look on blitz revealed strikes all around me, just out of range. Typical.

Well, had a lot of heavy showery stuff mixed in with longer spells of rain this afternoon. About 20 minutes ago it came over very dark and the rain got VERY heavy. I'm actually quite surprised there hasn't been a few flashes/rumbles mixed in with it. Still raining here, heavy on and off...

Netweather have issued a storm watch for this afternoon... THUNDERSTORM WATCH - FRI 31 MARCH 2023 Issued 2023-03-31 08:48:41 Valid: 31/03/2023 0600 - 01/04/2023 0600 Forecast Details Storm Mathis, named by MeteoFrance, will track east across S England on Friday. Showery bands of rain circulating around the low will turn increasingly convective with heavier bursts at times as the low clears east towards the southern North Sea this afternoon. Convection will be strong enough to perhaps produce lightning in places across S England, Midlands and E Anglia this afternoon – though the risk will be fairly low. There is a risk of localised flooding where heavier convective bursts train in places. Issued by: Nick Finnis Issued by the Netweather forecast team whenever there is a risk of storms or severe convective weather, these discussion based and in depth forecasts will highlight the areas at risk and give an in depth description of the risk and the factors surrounding it. You can actually see the curl on the radar image as the center moves past...

Thought I heard a bit of distant thunder last night/this morning about 1am when we had some heavy rain that arrived just before midnight. A quick check on Blitzortung confirmed there was indeed some strikes just north of me.

Typical. Stops sparking as it approaches me and then starts again once it's past and out of range!

Rest of the week we have lows coming in from the Atlantic I believe. I wonder if there's any chance of some stormy stuff mixed in with these? if not I'll just enjoy the heavy (hopefully) rain.

Yes I know, but I've never seen one that long and narrow before!

Well, one things for sure...after an absolutely pitiful winter without a drop of rain for over TWO MONTHS my fears of this being a crappy year for storms may be premature. It's certainly been quite a stormy week so far with all parts getting in on the act at some point and not just the usual suspects (Ireland, Scotland, Wales). Hopefully this'll turn out to be a terrific year for storms. Last year was the best I can ever remember having had 17 storm or thunder days in my area. I hope this year follows suit.

Can't believe this convection line stretching all the way from Dorset to Essex. Incredible. Edit - Beaten to it by Minus10! Also looks like North London had a massive storm not long ago. Could see the Cb's from here (Welling)...

Huge cg and a rumble from a very heavy shower at Shooters Hill about 12.05pm. Couldn't take any pics as was driving but it was extremely localised as I could see the edges of it above me and blue sky a couple of miles each side of it. I'm in Welling now and can see the cell in it's entirety as it has drifted northeast. Textbook anvil on it. I'm off the 2023 starting blocks.

Looks like the storm seasons just beginning to spring into life! Early days yet but so far signs are encouraging. Looking at that Great Hucklow damage, I would put money on that being Tornado damage, it's almost textbook.