Stormraider

Yes im fully aware that Thunder cannot hurt me, and im sure that a majority of those who have Brontophobia realise that noise cannot possibly hurt you. Does anyone here dislike ALL loud noises i.e jets,fireworks etc ? or just thunder? When i was a kid it used to be all loud noises, i remember going to the local airshow at Cosford and the noise from the likes of the Vulcan bomber being so loud that you felt it rather than heard it, also the Tornado,Harrier and the like. Now though none of those bother me, the same goes for fireworks, i used to hide away late October early November due to al the noise, and like the jet noise... now it doesnt bother me. I find this site helps me keep an eye on any storms in my area and so idea when and where they are going to be. I went to see a therapist some years ago who told me that im making things worse by keeping check on the weather on tv,looking out the window all the time etc, but i find that by doing that i am ready for it, as i said in my other post... i hate being caught out by thunder. Once a storm starts im quite relaxed and i will either sit and watch it or just read a book or whatever, as long as i dont hear it im ok. My kids dont have this phobia and im glad they dont as i wouldnt want them to suffer as i did (one of which is sadly not with us anymore) but thats besides the point. I also remember my mother on more than one occasion, trying to pull my fingers out and force me to listen to it saying i was being stupid, deep down i hate her for doing that but i never let it show as she is now more understanding. She doesnt like lightning... understandable, in the summer last year my wife and i were at my parents for a bbq, a storm broke out, i did my thing with the headphones, my mother started going 'OOO' 'OOO' in an almost excited way each time she saw lightning, i think she does that in a more comical way as its her way of coping, had me in stitches anyway. Does anyone know of any phobia sites? Ideally i would like to make my own website dedicated to my phobia, give people the chance to discuss their phobia of thunder with people who have the same thing, a place where they can open up more and not be the butt of some joke. Steve

I have been suffering with the phobia of thunder now for 31 years. I was 2yrs old and i saw my nan put her fingers in her ears due to a thunderstorm, As kids at that age tend to copy others i started doing the same and my phobia grew from there. Sadly neither of my parents tried to stop me from doing this, i was badly bullied at school because of it, has stopped me from doing things in life i had plans for. Nowadays i dont put my fingers in my ears but i listen to music on headphones instead. I have always enjoyed watching storms... the best one being in 1995 when 2 storms merged into one giant one, lasted about 3 hours, one strike hit the telegraph pole less than 50ft away... totally amazing. I got caught out by a freak mini storm on the way back from work 2 years ago, travelling back from Walsall my workmates and i stopped off at a pub a few miles from home. It was raining quite heavy when there was a flash of lightning and almost instant thunder.. luckly i didnt have my pint in hand but put my fingers in my ears but no one took any notice. I tried to be brave and not show myself up, i forced myself to listen to the next 2 loud bangs, quickly downed my pint, told everyone i was going back to the car. There i got my headphones out manaed to get them on my head before the next bang. I was shaking like mad, i find that being caught out is terriffying. Whats worse is the waiting, once i know there is even the slightest chance of a storm, i get all tense, go very quiet, have been known to be sick with worry. My heart goes out to anyone with this phobia, some are worse than others, and to those who poke fun at ANY phobia... have no idea. Steve

It's been snowing since about 9am thsi mornin, so far about 3 inches ontop of the 3 or 4 we had yesterday. No signs of it letting up either so i expect about 10 inches by tomorrow morning if it keeps up. Steve

We have horizontal rain here in Telford at the mo... think there is a bit of sleet mixed in with the heavy rain... very wet and very windy!!!

Very heavy rain here, been like this for almost an hour, must have at least an inch, drains are starting to overflow and the roads are rivers. Typical... i write this and the rain becomes lighter....

Just had horizontal rain here, driven by very strong winds. Clearing up now from the SW/W.

After a very heavy shower about 9pm last night along with strong winds, i thought we were in for a night of it. But it soon cleared to give a cool clear night. This AM its very fresh and a certain smell you usually get in Autumn, cant explain what it smells like but its a fresh smell, almost like frost!. Can see large CB's to my North/North East in a horizontal line.

Steady rain here, been raining about an hour now. Im not sure but i think i keep hearing faint rumbles, not sure of the direction thats if its thunder at all.

12 months on and totally different weather, this day last year i managed to get a few photos of fantastic Mammatus on the trailing edge of a band of thundery rain/storms, as far as the eye could see both North and South. Not sure where the photos are but will look for them and post them on here if and when. As i said 1 year on and its far from summer like... although muggy, its overcast and damp.

Steady light/moderate rain now after two very heavy bursts about 7am.

After a prolonged period of medium/heavy rain during the night, its fresh as a daisy. Expecting heavy showers anytime soon, think i heard a distant rumble over towards Wales but i could be wrong. Temp is 15.2C

Just started raining here, though very lightly, not expecting any storms but might get the odd rumble.

Just seen this odd looking cloud, trying to form into an anvil but never made it Had 2 light showers here and have seen heavier showers in the distance

Just having our first shower of the day but its only light, expecting heavier ones later. Temp 15C W'erly wind.

Currently got the trailing edge of the storm system overhead, a great orange sky and a bit of Mammatus too, pity my cam is broke... some great sky here

Cloudy, misty and wet.... 10c

After being misty/very low clouds and dry to a moderate but steady rain falling now...

Dry and overcast here, misty too, a fresher feel... took the dog for a walk half 5 this morning in my shorts... came back shivering. Glad the storms held off here last night as we had a aniversarry celebration late into the night outside...

Great photos Paul, Noticed the possible tornados in some of the pics. Keep chasing them storms and you will surely find the storms you need. Steve

Got what looks like small avils building to the north of Telford but doesnt look like they will be storms as such just showers.

fair bit of cloud around, wind has got stronger too, yet to see any heavy showers though, anyone think we will get any?

Think im in the firing line then, we always get heavy showers in Telford after a rain band. Ill be ready with my cam later.

Very cold and frosty this morning in Telford, temp still at -3, not a cloud in the sky... Cant see the weather being as 'Active' today as it was the past 2 days. Took these two photos yesterday, the one with what looks like a Tornado trying to form was one of a score of mini Tornadoes trying to form along a long line of storms late in the afternoon. The other one with the sun in between two clouds and all you could see of the sun was the Golden (not silver) lining of the two clouds.

Just heard the first rumble of thunder of 2006 in Telford.

Very ominous dark cloud over Telford as i write... Either Rain or Snow. Sunshine in Broseley which makes the Cloud look even darker. Saw a storm develop in the matter of minutes over Telford. Wonder if we will see more impressive formations like yesterday. Not as windy as past few days so the storms we get are likely to be slow moving.