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Posted
  • Location: Coventry, 95m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Snow Nov - Feb. Thunderstorms, 20-29°C and sun any time!
  • Location: Coventry, 95m asl
Posted (edited)

Not expecting anyone to be alive today when these happened of course but interesting to keep in the archives with the full paper files attached at the bottom.

TORRO hail scale for reference:

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The first event was on the 9th August 1843 where a 255km swath across England, from the northern Cotswolds to the Norfolk Broads, experienced an enormously destructive hailstorm. The severity of the damage indicates that this storm reached an intensity of H7 on the TORRO scale. The swath width was 15-20km, also quite notable. The devastation of many cereal and fruit crops from the storm prompted a series of appeal funds to be launched such as at Aylsham, Norfolk.

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The storm was most destructive in the south and east of Cambridge where hailstones the size of 'hens eggs' 15cm in circumference, were picked up in the Trumpington Road district. Many buildings in the town, including the Town Hall and St. Clement’s Church sustained the almost total destruction of north-facing glass; 800 square feet (70 m2) of glass was broken at the County Courts, about 3000 panes of glass were destroyed at the Botanic Gardens and nearly 5000 panes were smashed at the University Pitt Press. Every college reported some broken glass, Sidney was one of the worst affected with 1800 panes broke.

Wind-driven hail was reported in many locations along the storm’s course. Three localities experienced especially violent winds which suggests either tornadic activity towards the right hand side of the hail swath, or a mesocyclone associated with supercell thunderstorms.

2 other damaging hailstorms affected England. The first appears to have developed over north Wiltshire late afternoon, moving across Berkshire from Kintbury, near Hungerford, in the southwest to Wittenham in the northeast. Damage was especially severe in the vicinity of Wantage where according to the Reading Mercury, 7000 panes of glass were broken at the Union Workhouse. Further west a hailstorm severely injured crops around the Wiltshire downland village of Upper Upham, near Swindon. Between 2200GMT and midnight a violent storm affected the Medway area of north Kent. The Rochester Gazette reported that skylights and greenhouses (including frames) in the town were demolished and “scarcely a house escaped without broken windows”. The hailstones were described as generally the size of large walnuts. 14000 panes of glass were smashed at Chatham Dockyard.

Although reanalysis this far back is quite low-res, there does appear to be a thundery low coming up from France with some quite very warm air given "temperatures lifted to 26-28°C under hazy sunshine in south-eastern England."

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Next event is the  1st August 1846. 

A pronounced thundery trough appears to have pushed slowly north-north-eastwards following a fine spell at the end of that July resulting in one of the most awesome series of thunderstorms and hailstorms to affect central and eastern England in the past 200 years.

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On 1 August 1846, Greenwich and Chiswick both recorded 33C in the open Glaisher type revolving stands, where on hot days these thermometers read about 2 deg C higher than in a modern day Stevenson screen.

The most destructive of all the fierce storms of 1 August 1846 struck Weldon in northern Northamptonshire between 1800 and 1900 GMT. Every house in the village had windows broken, roofs were demolished by the wind and hail, and many livestock were swept away by raging flood waters. At Harewood Lodge, numerous windows (including frames) were dashed in, and the roof of the gardener’s cottage was blown approximately 30m over a wall. The entire framework of glasshouses was swept away, while two chimneys of the main building were either blown down or shattered by lightning strikes.

There were at least 10 other separate severely damaging or destructive hailstorms affecting England on 1 August 1846. This outbreak had the greatest number of these severe hailstorms recorded on a single day in Great Britain.

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august 1843 hail H7.pdf august 1846 hail h6.pdf

Edited by Metwatch
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Posted
  • Location: Islington, C. London.
  • Location: Islington, C. London.
Posted (edited)

It may be wrong but it seems to be that thunderstorms seems to be of much more greater intensity and frequency in colder times compared to today. I don't think this is the case worldwide so why here it's a mystery. These look to be awesome storms, particularly 1/8/1846. The same summer that produced the hottest ever June so clearly a notable one. 

Edited by LetItSnow!
Posted
  • Location: Herne Bay, Kent (14 m)
  • Weather Preferences: Thunderstorms & Snow
  • Location: Herne Bay, Kent (14 m)
Posted

 LetItSnow!

Arctic sea ice might have some influence I'd suppose. Sure I remember reading that somewhere although I think that was on UKWW 

Posted
  • Location: Islington, C. London.
  • Location: Islington, C. London.
Posted

 Weather-history Absolutely a part of it, but hasn’t there been a detected decrease in thundery activity in the past 20 years anyway? I think it was actually noted and not just a “feels like thing”. There’s definitely a reason why but I’m stumped. 

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