[Severe Thunderstorms in Birmingham - 27th May 2018]

13 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

2016-2018 was a golden period for storms again in my opinion, but 2019 seemed to be lacking anything thundery, apart from a few distant storms after that heatwave in mid to late July. It wasn’t memorable, but others told me they got hit by storms in July 2019.

 

In my area, I can’t remember any storms in 2016 and I only had a loud crack of thunder in early August 2017. The best years for storms in my area that I remember well were summers 2012 and 2013. In 2012, I was hit by severe storms on 28th June and experienced quite a thundery August relative to average. In 2013, I had thunderstorms at the end of the hot July, that were not quite as severe as 2012 and the aforementioned 2018, and I also had rumbles of thunder at the start of August that year. 2014 had storms on the night of the 18th-19th July that were decent if you like staying up late for them, but I unfortunately fell asleep just as the second round of storms was about to pass through. 2015 had storms at the start of July. The only storms I had over my house in 2018 were the ones mentioned above in this topic, but I saw a distant flash of lightning on 21st April after the very warm/hot spell that month. In 2019 I had storms with some brilliant lightning in late July, which was during or after that exceptional 38.7*c hot spell. However, for the sake of the poor locals who had their homes flooded during those violent 2018 storms, I wouldn’t like to experience that extreme amount of rainfall in a short space of time ever again. Unfortunately, I don’t have control of what extreme weather will happen in the future, which, I suppose can make our interest in the weather more interesting.

[Severe Thunderstorms in Birmingham - 27th May 2018]

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.    

   

   

[June 2020 CET & EWP forecast contests]

Can you enter the CET and EWP competition any time in the year even if you didn't enter for the first 5 months of the year?

[Rainfall stats since mid March - very dry theme]

2 hours ago, damianslaw said:

After months of very wet conditions, culminating in the exceptionally wet February, since mid March there has been below average rainfall preety much everywhere, only near average in some central south parts of England.

In the Lake District, river levels have been exceptionally low for a good 5-6 weeks now. I can't remember the last truly wet day, probably before mid- March. Most rain that has fallen has been fairly light stuff, with just the occasional moderate burst thanks to weak frontal activity. Any showers that have developed have been shortlived and not packed much of a punch. With very little rain forecast on the horizon for quite some time, I wonder whether we are looking at one of the driest mid March-mid May periods on record.

Not sure what has happened to the atlantic at present - there has been a complete absence of westerly airstreams since Mid March, anyone enlighten me on why it is so quiet? Not complaining, as it has been the tonic during these very trying past few weeks. It is beginning to feel like April - June 2018 here, which was also exceptionally dry, but the difference between then and now, is the heat hasn't yet built up, and importantly it came on the back of a much drier winter.

Climate change might be a reason for a quiet Atlantic. I'm starting to wonder whether we will get another hot Summer 2 years after the last one.