Dark Horse

carinthian I find the far south of south America interesting. Places like Ushuaia in Argentina can get some really interesting winter weather. At 54.4°s it's the most southern city in the world. About the equivalent as being as far north as the Lake District if I'm not mistaken. It's often an overlooked city and the surrounding area has spectacular scenery. Mountains, glaciers, forests etc. Probably a great place to live. And fresh air! Unheard of in Manchester.

Frigid never a dull moment up there it seems. Extreme cold, lots of brutal Atlantic storms and now this.

*Stormforce~beka* At first glance I thought you had UFOs in the sky near you

Not a terrible outlook at all. For me it's perfect nothing excessively hot which most people don't want anyway unless you have air con but just nice and warm. And the best part is accumulated rainfall looks ok. This is the GFS which often overestimates it so could be even drier but this is way better than the dark oranges/browns we were used to seeing over the past 10-11 months at every model run!

Scorcher No notable easterly breeze, therefore no rain shadow effect in play. Needs to be over 15mph to see this in action.

After a bright start the inevitable rain had to arrive like a magnet to this area. Not a great afternoon but at least there's no wind with it nor is it chilly. More nuisance value than anything else. Still looks good this weekend more so Sunday. Going to sunbathe!

As others say not the best of days but at least it's felt very mild and there's nothing all that chilly on the horizon, not totally dry but no Atlantic onslaught either certainly nothing compared to the below average temps we had a a couple plus weeks back too. Looking at the models we might have a nice weekend on the way could get up to 20c with sunny spells. That will feel nice in the strong May sun. It's been so nice to put the winter coat away for at least a while.

Finally something better

Started to rain here but no thunder anywhere near so been a let down so far, I'm too far east I reckon. Often the case with thunderstorms, more western parts of the region usually do better. Weather warning lasts until 11pm so still time yet I guess.

First rumble heard here, seems a distance away though. Hopefully I'm not going to be too far east this evening, be nice to have a direct hit

PennineMark Yeah if we can reach 25c in the middle of April back in 2003 then 25c isn't all that impressive approaching the middle of May these days. 30c would be though. I think we've had such a poor spell of weather that what we have now seems like it.

Some towering cumulus starting to develop over the Pennines as I look east from crown point.

Starting to brighten up here now so hopefully this will help with instability later on

severe snowstorm never bloody happens with snow though does it?

weatherobsuk I guess this is a good time to have surge protection on your electronic equipment.

Getting my skin some much needed UV exposure and vitamin d. What a pleasantly warm day it's been. . If it's like this all summer I'd be happy. Maybe some thunder thrown in though to spice it up a bit.

Looks like make the most of the next 4 days as the inevitable descent into dross again looks likely, hopefully won't last too long. Perfect temps low 20s on the way really nice and comfortable, this was my mum's favourite weather, she would have been sat out enjoying it with her book .

stainesbloke yes I bet the amount of cloud we get accounts for it because sky blue was my mum's favourite colour too. She always said she preferred the man city colours over the man u ones.

B87 yeah my uncle has lived in Australia since he was 17. He's now 82 and he says the same thing to people that have never been that it's not as dry as they think it is especially on the coast compared to the desert interior. He lives about an hour's drive north of Sydney.

WillinGlossop is your phone camera faulty? You wore it out with food pics but we want them back

I remember Atlantic 252 I know. I'm 5'10, you can do your BMI calculation here : Calculate your body mass index (BMI) for adults - NHS WWW.NHS.UK Check your BMI to find out if you're a healthy weight for your height, and get advice on what to do next. This BMI calculator is for people over 18 years old.

*Stormforce~beka* I eat normally and don't starve myself but I'm a pretty skinny guy at just over 9 1/2 stone and I feel the cold, my BMI is 19 which is the lower end of normal weight but not classed as underweight. It's 20c in my house and only when it gets this high that I don't shiver to be honest. Only time I sweat is when it's a big heatwave! I used to be 13 stone a few years ago and never felt cold at all back then, had to take my coat off in winter. That wasn't my natural weight though and never felt good because of it, as my mum and dad were both skinny. I gained that weight through depression and overeating.

Skyline in Denton 10 mins ago whilst sat having a coffee, thickening clouds. On my way back home now. Was bright earlier and felt nice when the sun decided to show itself. Seems very difficult to get a properly sunny day with little cloud build up doesn't it?

A Face like Thunder don't worry I'm sure we'll soon be in the furnace if the last few years are anything to go by with temps well into the thirties.

raz.org.rain Funny to see Iraq well below average especially considering Baghdad still manages to hit the high 20s over the next few days. Average temp is high 30s this time of year just shows how even well below average there would still be very warm to us here.