I have chosen to open my very first historic weather topic on the subject of the severe, violent and destructive thunderstorms in Birmingham two years ago. I will give a description of what happened that day and what my memories are of this day.
The rumbles of thunder from the first storms started around 1 am on Sunday 27th, with the 1st round of storms fully passing through my local area by around 3 am. The 2nd round of storms passed through the area around 7 am. These storms were not that extreme, but the final round of storms later that afternoon was much worse.
I always remember that whilst I played tennis in Northfield early that afternoon it was really humid and cloudy, but it was warm. I even suggested to my tennis partner that there was a strange atmosphere in the air as if another round of storms was coming, but I didn't know what was about to happen. I was about to finish my tennis match when the 1st rumbles of the final round of storms started around 4 pm, although I'm not as sure as I was about the exact time this started. Rain started falling as I was getting in the car to go home, with rumbles continuing overhead. The rain became more and more intense and by the time I started my car journey with my parents to a pub in the Selly Oak area, visibility was harder, with continuous low rumbling and loud crashing lightning. Drain covers were popping out because of the flash flooding. There wasn't daytime darkness, but the raindrops were large in volume. The rain became so bad the pub I arrived at stopped serving food because of safety concerns. The thunder carried on loud and continuous until the final round of storms passed through my local area around 6 - 7 pm. When driving home from the pub and getting a Chinese takeaway, the air felt cool and fresh, but there was deep water in and around a park with a stream normally running through it.
I later found out how bad things had been around the Midlands, with a man dying, and homes flooded in 2016 being flooded again 2 years later.
Met office stats showed 58.6 mm rain fell in just 1 hour at Winterbourne, which is not far form the pub I was in. That hourly figure was a months worth of rain that falls in an average Midlands May. Winterbourne also recorded 81.0 mm rainfall in 24 hours, which includes that exceptional hourly total.
This event shows the real cost of severe weather to people, with flooding causing death and the loss of people's personal belongings. Thankfully my home wasn't flooded.
My personal opinion on this event is that it remains the most remarkable and exceptional thunderstorm and rain event that I have directly bore the brunt of. I struggle to see this day of thunder being beaten in the future. This would make up my top 10 weather events in my lifetime so far. I also reckon the 3rd and final round of storms would be comparable to the more severe thunderstorm outbreaks of the more thundery era of the past. The next worst thunder outbreak of my life is the 28th June 2012 storms, but that is the subject of another thread.
I would like to get other opinions from fellow Netweather users about this event, and what memories my fellow Midlanders have of this exceptional day of thunder on the 27th May 2018.
This post is so long, I think I'll have a lie down.
All the best guys and I hope you have fun with this discussion.