dodge

Slate grey skies today, sun wasn't going to breakthrough here. Kind of day in the middle of Jan/Feb that would have been a bit nippy, but temps not too bad today. Let's have some northern blocking and a few wasteful northerly incursions now shall we when they are chocolate fireguard usefulness...we can have mild south westerlies with copious amounts of rainfall in Jan/Feb.

Aah no such problem now the showers are popping up & coming from the North... No Peak D or Pennines to get over...biblical downpour just now, no thunder though.

I love the Peak District for so many reasons but boy does it sponge up any storms that dare to cross it from the south. The west had no such obstacle so that's were the fun and games were yesterday.

Bit cruel this everything to my south east <direction of weather> is being killed off but just west of mcr they are popping up out of nothing. Oh well you win some you lose some.

Glorious day today, but the radar is showing some spicy showers to the south, gaps are being filled in and a line is forming from The Fylde coastline to North Midlands... I'd be surprised if most of us don't see a little activity in the next hour or two.

No T&L here like there was early hours of today...but the rain was deluge proportions for an intense 10 mins.

Well the first front ahead of the main storm batch was a weakening front and has virtually evaporated into nothing after passing through Stoke but there's more spicy activity now showing down south but maybe that too will weaken a little by the time it hits yours truly...hope not.

Warm sunny days and overnight rain...what more could we want? <snow on Christmas Eve...but let's not get ahead of ourselves> Fingers crossed anything lively tonight doesn't happen when the majority of us are in heavy slumber.

Typical you wait ages for a decent thunderstorm and then it comes in the death of the night, wakes you up and by the time you've slumbered your sleepy eyes out of zombie stage it's all over. Was quite impressive though, more sheet lightning than any visible zig-zag strikes but the rain was monsoon like for 20 mins or so. Decent day ahead before overnight frolics again? Feels tropical.

Generally west of the ring road, that's were the heaviest rain is right now on the radar but it might effect more Eastern parts of the region through the night. There's a lot of it brewing to the south.

Maybe something a bit lively for those west of the M60 next few hours... those east of it...nada...or a damping of the ground at best.

Clouds have gone darker and filled in, and some signs of activity to the south but it really is like trying to get blood out of a stone to get a decent atmospheric firework show these days. Not that we'll get anything like that anyway but a rumble or two and a decent depository of appreciable rain wouldn't go amiss.

In the storm avoidance corridor again.

Meto app now updated next 3hrs with 70% tstorm chance... that's blown it then...if they had kept the sunny spells graphics I might have had a chance of an almighty deluge. <sarcasm>

Ah...approaching front from the South West creating a strong gusty south easterly wind shear ahead of it means no rain for me...it will all stay out to the west and the exciting thundery showers will pop-up on the other side of the Pennines. Until it get's some East to West movement (which might happen later in the weekend) it should stay dry here.

Well the latest Met Office week ahead certainly indicates a change to something we've not been used to all summer, a decent spell of wet weather from weekend onwards. Low pressure sitting out just to our west spinning bands of rain up and across the country. It will feel markedly different. Also indicated the sea surface temperature is above average in the sub tropics with could spawn a conveyor belt of low pressures in our direction during autumn. Again something it feels like we've forgotten the burden of in recent times. It's been so dry, now the switchover might begin.

Strange how dark and gloomy it's gone without actually raining. Although the radar is showing a little drizzly development just to my east...I've had lighter skies with it bucketing down. Oh well...not complaining...the rain will come and usually outstay it's welcome once we get into well into Autumn.

The natural way to mow your lawn...but then you think that what goes in, must come out at some point...maybe they'll wait until until they return to the fields to carry out that particular duty. Quite threatening looking clouds this afternoon after a costa-del-sol start, but it's stayed dry so far and the radar only shows miniscule pockets of showers popping up west of mcr.

Definately an above average summer for me. It's been dry (the reservoir levels and constant United Utilities emails tells me that), it feels like it's been above average sunshine and at times warm to hot temps. The furnace high 30's days of 18-19th July memorable if not tolerable. The week too come that closes out Meteorological summer doesn't look too bad either. All in all a thumbs up from me. Now accepting of cooler wetter winds of autumn and hopefully a winter that lives up to it's name.

How rare...rain from the South giving a decent wetting of the ground here...normally it dies a death. Appears to have just developed south of Manchester so not much ground to track over to reach here. However normal service resumed later as rain from the West will no doubt deliver it's load without too much trouble in the NW region.

The lashings of heavy rain & occasional thunderstorms on the Eastern side of the pens have finally crawled over to this side in the form of decaying drops of spittle. Keen wind though, much fresher now

North West is absolutely dire for thunderstorms...we are stuck in the middle of no mans land with activity to the North & South with neither in any hurry to get to us. Suns even out in full force now providing no relief to this muggy clammy humid feel...desperately need a clearance to fresher air.

Well I think the next 10 days going off the charts could turn what for some has been a little above average summer so far into a pretty decent one...lots of warm sunshine, little rainfall and this with a few extra brass knobs on for those south of the midlands. Indeed for some it could turn out to be a 'rare' period of actual summer weather for the majority of the school 6 week break-up. Little cloudy and cool today, but nothing you don't expect living in the North West.

A few beefy showers in the early hours & this morning as we usually seem to get here when the winds switch N'Wstly but the days are still reasonably long and I'm sure the sunny spells will break through into the afternoon.

Doesn't feel like a draught area today, rain is quite heavy at times now and the brighter clearance promised for this afternoon has now been updated to a slow baked drizzle fest. Shame we can't blow it all down south.