Supacell

Actually, having checked the direction I think the showers are moving in a NNW direction and so anything over Brum more likely to affect Staffordshire than here. A few sferics breaking out between Evesham and Banbury.

I have my eye on those showers moving through you.

I have seen red and orange lightning a few times, including early hours yesterday. It does seem to be when further away though and only in plume events from the continent. I do think it has to do with dust and pollution in the air as this would explain why they only occur when the lightning is further away and only in plume events whereby pollution is brought in from the continent on the plume. These most recent storms brought blue/white and orange flashes in the clouds at the same time once the storms were a long way over the horizon. I wonder if this had anything to do with the sun beginning to rise at the same time.

I could be well placed for something thundery again late afternoon as that trough in the west swings NE. I am hoping it will intensify as it moves into the higher CAPE inland.

Having chased both Wednesday night and last nights storm I have to say that although both were great the one on Wednesday night was better. The lightning frequency in that storm are the like I have never witnessed with more than 1 flash every second, last night's were about 1 every 10-20 seconds which is still far better than most UK storms. No doubt that both late on the 1st July 2015 and early on the 4th July 2015 will go down as two of my more successful and productive storm chases. Quite geeky this but I do actually give all the storm chasers I go on a rating dependent on various different factors such as lightning frequency/intensity, thunder, rate of rainfall, winds, hail, clouds, funnel/tornadoes, flooding etc... both these storms fall in my top 20 from around 100 chases - so not bad going An interesting thing about last nights storm for me is that there were different colours of lightning from orange to pink to white to blue/purple and even some greenish tinted flashes.

What a great night last night and coming at the end of a great week

I have still to check how many lightening bolts my camera saw. I saw 3 but I spent most of the time sheltering in the car whilst my camera sat on top of a gate filming the storm. I could see the bright flashes and hear the thunder but the rain was too heavy to stand outside. My camera is waterproof so okay in the rain. Glad you had a good evening. This last week has been remarkable for storms by UK standards.

What a great evening for storms. I first headed out west to intercept a young cell that had erupted to the west of Birmingham. By the time it passed over me between Uttoxeter and Stafford it was an absolute belter with crazy bright lightning, bolts and gusty winds. I then drove back along the A50 to Derby under frequent flashing, although admittedly it was moving quite quickly to my north. I have just got back to film some flashes as the storm leaves Derby. As I was driving towards Uttoxeter there were branches and leaves on the road, signs of some powerful wind gusts most probably. I also saw a bolt of lightning hit behind the field and a green flash so it must have hit something. Okay, I probably would have seen just as much activity staying at home but the lightning was so much better being out in open fields with very little light pollution and decent views as opposed to being in a house on an estate with only the views of other houses. I should be tired now, but I am still buzzing

I can't.... silly of me to think I could

Ok. I am going to get my head down for an hour and then to "wherever the radar takes me" in about 2 hours.

Indeed it is. The Bournemouth cell has developed a nice core now too.

I think that Bournemouth cell is heading due north and so is set to hit Derby if it survives.

Bournemouth storm is like the kind of thing we watch erupt over the Low Countries, truly remarkable strike rate!

If it is then it will take the exact track predicted by Euro4 - heading towards Lincolnshire but cutting a great swathe through CS England and the East Midlands first. Too far east for me but I would chase it.

It is going mental south of Bournemouth now and the storms SE of London and in NW England and N Wales not at all bad either. The massive gap in the middle should fill up in the next couple of hours (I hope).

I think real time lightning is as there are lots of strikes just on and off the south coast showing.

Storms ganging up and growing to the south of Dorset and heading north, these are currently the ones I am most interested in as they would hit Derby if they survived the 200 mile journey.

Something a little more potent just north of Hereford.

East Midlands Airport TAF says 40% of +TSGR this evening - that's thunderstorm with hail

Feels cool here with a fresh NE breeze. It is hard to believe there are big storms forecast for tonight. I am still feeling hopeful despite the fact it does not feel warm or humid, there are just too many parameters in place (on the charts) for me to feel downbeat. The fact there are already sferics to the west makes me feel confident too.

Lincoln may be a good bet for you if things get going to the south

I would agree with Grantham as being a good place should the "potential" supercell that has been modeled happens as per the models (and now the BBC graphics). It is easy to get west or east from there using the A52 and north or south using the A1 or A15. Added benefits of chasing at night are that there is much less traffic and you can also use lightning as a guide if storms are already ongoing. I had no internet on Weds night so just took myself to the risk area and then followed the lightning to get into the storm. Bear in mind storms will be moving quickly so you want to be ahead of the storm, not behind it.

Has anybody seen the latest BBC forecast with Nick Miller - it looks rather tasty around Lincolnshire. New BBC graphics in line with Euro4.

My current plan is to stay put as I look to be well placed for the main band moving from the southwest later. However, because anything that breaks out further east will likely have a higher chance of being severe I am all set to drive east using the A52 from Derby should this happen. I am aware of the potential for something to develop around Hampshire and move NE towards Lincolnshire.... this would have to cross the A52 to make this track. That is my plan for now, could be different by 6pm

Whilst filming this storm over Ljubljana, Slovenia I was too distracted by the lightning bolts and thunder crashes that I did not notice it's rotation. This is sped up but check out this rotation!!