Harry

There is still the potential for a very brief plume late Friday/early hours of Saturday. The bulk of the action will be over France, with C France modelled by WRF NMM to have CAPE widely in excess of 3,000 J/Kg, but in some points in excess of 5,000 J/Kg with LIs of -9 to -12!!!! That is madness. We MAY get swiped by some of this instability (max 500 - 1,000 MLCAPE), anywhere from Cornwall to Kent and maybe points north. But as it will be associated with an attendant front moving north, it could absorbed into a frontal mess rather than storms. But, something to still keep an eye on - especially if you're holidaying in France on Friday!!

That's what I'm hoping for @Justin1705 - once these dregs clear we should have a decent view of flashes from the cells up North. The big storms earlier today have done a sufficient job at mixing the air, whereas further North the air is ripe and untainted. Really impressed by the lightning rates on those storms in the Leicester area - very impressive. Would love to know also whether @Ben Sainsbury did in fact spot a large tornado (by UK standards). I suspect he's either chasing the Midlands storms or en route home.

Looks as though the new cells S of London have electrified. C/N London storms have lost their electricity sadly.

Looking all a bit uninspiring over London @Robbie Garrett - thought I just heard thunder but not sure where from - possible was something else.

These storms over NW London look like they might be intensifying again as they move this way. Sky going dark to my NW as they drift this way - not wanting to be greedy (much) but hoping they sustain as they come this way

There is some serious voltage coming from those Midlands storms!!

Possibly new storms firing over W/N London. Hopefully they won’t be killed off by this train of storms to my South. This is the anvil I’m sat under listening to the storm. Would love it if someone could post a composite of all the lightning from today.

This is just amazing - sat in a deck chair, in the garden, with a rum and coke looking up the backside of this monster storm as it kicks out constant rumbles high up over my head! Just awesome!

This is the western edge of the new Kent storms - they are back building and back building while I’m sat under the anvil.

I’m too close to get any decent photographs - not complaining mind!!! So much thunder. This is the anvil from these new storms!

Yup! We had thunder for a good hour at lunch time. It’s torrential here where I am but I’m just on the edge

Loads of thunder coming from the London cell and HUGE convective drops again - today has been insane

Hearing occasional deep rumbles - think it’s from the cell near Orpington (again!). But it looks as if maybe there’s a new tower going up to my west over London - hard to see it completely through other clouds but it looks immensely vertical and high! #get in - it’s just kicked out a rumble! Hopefully this will come close

I’m looking up the a**e of that. Huge convective raindrops but no thunder to speak of. Just had a rumble! Yay!!

New shower just popped up out of nowhere, right overhead. Huge soft hail convective raindrops falling.

Today has almost felt like a day on the US plains - clear skies, heat building, Cu field, followed by explosive development of discrete intense cells. If you look on the radar at the storm approaching Chelmsford, it splits into two discrete and intense cells.

As the storms move east, they keep continually building. Orpington seems to be the breeding ground here - as soon as the storm billows up and moves off, another tower replaces it. Brand new one going up - must be bad flash flooding there.

Some proper outflow from the SE London/Kent cell blowing through here now. Would keep eyes peeled to the W for any daughter cells

Storm drifting off now but a real treat. Must easily be 40-50 rumbles and a couple of CGs with proper thunder crashes when it was in its early days. Got this shot of crepuscular rays coming from behind the anvil

It’s going mad now - I’m under the inflow tail and there’s thunder now every 10 - 15 seconds or so. This could be the first major cell of the day.

It’s very odd - it looks like I’m between 2-3 towers that have gone up at once. The tight intense parent cell is moving East, with what looks like another just ahead and one back to my SW. I can’t help but think these cells are the hors d’œuvres and preceding some beefier cells once they start organising.

This is what I can see - it is extremely localised but you can see other Cbs exploding behind it!

Just thinking the same thing @BB1979 - eerily calm, odd spots of rain - can see the Cb just over to the north but the crackling rumbling thunder seems nearer. Heard 5-6 rumbles so far - blimey, first CG as I’m typing - that’s more like it

I think I just heard a distant rumble. Yes!!! Storm just exploded to my NW - very close!

29C here now with the app showing 100% storm risk at 1800…. Cu field over London too looking to my West. More AcCas towards my east. Clear overhead