SenlacJack

This storm is really beefing up now. Frequent lightning, heavy rain and almost constant rumbling thunder.

It took a while getting here but the thunderstorm has finally made it across the Channel and landed in the Hastings area. Nowhere near as spectacular as last weeks storm but I' m not complaining.

That's quite a feature building up there despite the fact as others have said it feels quite chilly this evening.

I would like to post a short video of last nights storm but unfortunately don't have a clue how to do it

You wait over a year for a thunderstorm to come along and then boom ! This was an absolute corker here in St Leonards on Sea and timed to perfection as darkness fell. I saw the first distant lightning around 10pm accompanied by very faint rumbles of thunder and it took a while to get going but it was well worth the wait. The peak of the storm was between 11pm and midnight here and by then the lightning was constant, accompanied by torrential rain for about 10-15 minutes. Surprisingly not much thunder apart from when a few close c/g strikes occurred. I've been sitting out in the garden watching the whole event and whilst the lightning has been decreasing in intensity, it was still clearly visible until around 2am. What a fantastic evening and night it's been.

Nothing heard here in St Leonards on Sea yet but fingers crossed.

Ahead of Storm Hannah it was a very pleasant afternoon here in the Hastings area on Friday afternoon. Almost cloudless skies right on the coast and although quite breezy it was still warm enough to sit in the sun for a couple of hours. Far better than I was expecting but who knows what the next few hours will bring ? Winds picking up here now.

It's been a cracking good start to the Easter Bank Holiday weekend here in the Hastings area with light winds, wall to wall sunshine and temperatures locally around 22.7c. It's great news for local businesses but unfortunately there is a downside. Local infrastructure has failed to keep up with the demand in recent years, and it's really beginning to show. Sadly another example of lack of forward planning which is so prevalent in this country.

I just wish this easterly feed would do one. 11 of the last 15 days have seen winds from a predominatley easterly direction here and dragged temperatures down despite the occasional sunshine in recent days.

Why, what happened Abruzzi ?

A decent amount of sunshine here in the Hastings area today but with a temperature of just 11.0c locally and a stiff breeze it didn't feel too warm. Still an improvement on the last few days though.

No complaints from me today in this neck of the woods. I spent the whole afternoon on the seafront under cloudless skies, soaking up the warm sunshine. Temperatures locally reached 17.1c. Tomorrows forecast looks promising but sadly going downhill from there.

Here in this part of East Sussex we've been blighted with a blanket of cloud for the last couple of days, only clearing around 4pm this afernoon. I'm hoping for some better weather over the weekend before the predicted colder spell arrives next week.

I'm enjoying this current spell of relativly warm and sunny weather. Whilst down at the seafront this afternoon, there were 2 members of the St Leonards Sea Swimming Club, I was shivering my timbers just watching them swimming in the briney. Air temperature was 12.2c and the sea temperature a bone chilling 7.4c. I can just about manage a dip in the sea at the end of summer when the sea temperature is usually around 17-18c here.

Just had a very brief shower of small hail here in St Leonards on Sea. It's still quite breezy down here on the south coast but nowhere near as bad as the last few days. At least the sun is shining.

Hopefully once it arrives ( very shortly now ) it will be a short lived event. Squall lines tend to sweep through in 5-10 minutes. Quite impressive when they happen though.

It certainly looks as though the worst is yet to come for us here in the south east.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-47595902

Whilst the windspeed in isolation down here on the south coast is not particularly exceptional, I think the sheer persistance of it is. I live approximately 11 miles from Herstmonceux and the official site there has been reporting hourly gusts in excess of 30mph for the last 38 hours. Prior to that there has been little or no respite for almost a week now. It seems relentless. Worth mentioning that Herstmonceux is also several miles inland. I'm 2 miles inland and from my frequent visits to the seafront this week I can confirm it's been a very stormy spell of weather.

I'm thoroughly fed up with this unsettled spell now, with the wind in particular getting on my nerves. Currently gusting around 40mph locally ( Hastings area ) and so far this month there have only been 2 days where the winds haven't gusted between 30-50mph locally at some point in the day. It's not too bad on the occasional days when the sun has made a welcome appearance, but days like today where the winds are accompanied by sullen grey skies and sporadic drizzle really are quite depressing.

A quite remarkable day here on the South Coast with temperatures locally of 17.1c. It wasn't just the temperature itself which made it such an unusual day, it was the absence of even a slight breeze and the pure clear blue clarity of the sky. Fantastic day. 0

An almost Spring like day here in the Hastings area with just shy of 8 hours sunshine. Not as warm as some parts of the country, with temperatures locally 11.7c but felt pleasant enough.

About the weather. It's been another breezy day here in the Hastings area, albeit with some reasonable spells of hazy sunshine. It felt quite pleasant out of the wind with a Tmax of 10.0c and winds gusting to 40mph locally. Now for something that has annoyed me. The sea state has been quite rough for a number of days here, not surprising given the fact it's been a blowing a gale or near gale for much of the past week. However that didn't deter 2 'rufty tufty' types from setting out in their kayaks earlier today despite the conditions. As a result of their inconsiderate foolishness the lifeboats from both Hastings and Eastbourne were launched, and were joined by a rescue helicopter to assist their safe return to shore. The RNLI is my charity of choice. I hope the idiots they went out to rescue today make a huge donation. Rant mode off now.

Sorry to hear about this Donna. The A21 out of Hastings is a nightmare for the the first 20 miles or so at the best of times, let alone in this weather. Hope everyones ok. The snow is now easing off a bit in the Hastings area, but if it freezes overnight conditions will be tricky in the morning.

A winter wonderland here in St Leonards on Sea this evening