Daytime Darkness: The Storms Of August 1981

[Weather-history]

13 hours ago, Azazel said:

It must’ve been yes because I wasn’t at school!

 

13 hours ago, MP-R said:

 

29th May 1999 - absolute belter of a storm here in North Somerset. Only two days after the previous humdingers of the night of 27th May. There was also another thundery period on 1st/2nd June. A thundery period that was in a thundery summer!

 

[Azazel]

4 hours ago, Weather-history said:

 

 

Absolutely unreal to see storms moving up from the channel into the south west.

For me to get a violent (non elevated) storm in my location, I need the storms to come from as far to the south west as they can with the longest land track possible. 
 

The storms that day may have been an elevated MCS for most of the time but the bit I caught in Whitchurch was definitely 100 percent surface based - maybe it rooted itself beneath the boundary layer for a time.

[Andy Bown]

1 hour ago, Azazel said:

Absolutely unreal to see storms moving up from the channel into the south west.

For me to get a violent (non elevated) storm in my location, I need the storms to come from as far to the south west as they can with the longest land track possible. 
 

The storms that day may have been an elevated MCS for most of the time but the bit I caught in Whitchurch was definitely 100 percent surface based - maybe it rooted itself beneath the boundary layer for a time.

From memory for Westbury Wiltshire we had

Thursday ; numerous active elevated storms in the evening , some wonderful anvil crawlers.

Saturday ; big MCS in the afternoon 

Tuesday into Wednesday  ; loud thunderstorms in the night

[A Face like Thunder]

On 08/06/2020 at 14:29, A Face like Thunder said:

I have finally located these from Purley. The first was taken at midday and the second must have followed soon after.

40 years on and remembered as if it were yesterday. What a day! 

[Sunny76]

19 minutes ago, A Face like Thunder said:

40 years on and remembered as if it were yesterday. What a day! 

This event was probably my first earliest memory of a thunderstorm, as I was only 5 at the time.

I used to think it was summer 1982 when this happened in London, but all the weather archives point towards august 1981 having the storms that caused complete daytime darkness over a large area.

A storm of this magnitude now would cause so much hyperbole and ‘it’s global warming’ comments. 
 

The clouds must have been high to block out the sun completely, and for me, it’s one event I would love to witness as an adult or teen back in 81. Flights must have been cancelled or delayed during this time.

[A Face like Thunder]

South Croydon and Purley in the aftermath!

[Weather-history]

From 7th August 1981 Guardian

[Tom Quintavalle]

1 hour ago, A Face like Thunder said:

40 years on and remembered as if it were yesterday. What a day! 

Wow, already 40 years have elapsed, since that event. I was severely Brontophobic at the time, and also remember it as if it were Yesterday.

Below, is the post I put together, regarding that event, a while ago, 

 6th August 1981.

"Myself and my first Wife, were House-sitting at the time, for friends of ours. The Husband was a Groundsman at Alleyn's School, in Dulwich S.E. London. I worked around a brisk 20 minute walk, from our friend's House. I can remember I had a very brisk walk to work that Morning at around 9 A.M, as I was being "chased" by an "evil" coppery coloured Sky, which was emitting ever louder, peals of thunder. Managed to reach work, before the Tropical style rain began. I think there was a 2nd t/storm around 10 A.M. but this was short-lived. The "Piece de Resistance", was still to come  and gave this violent, thundery spell, it's "Daytime-Darkness" tag!! If memory serves, just before Lunchtime the sky grew darker and darker. In a short time, the sky was as black, as Midnight. But for quite a while, nothing happened and an eerie silence, ensued. Then "All hell broke loose". Frequent overhead Lightning and Thunder, with rain of an intensity, I've rarely seen. The thundery Weather finally moved away."

As a postscript to that account, I'd like to add an image, taken during that Event.

It appears in the Surrey County Weather Book and is reproduced with the kind permission of Ian Currie, who co-wrote the Book with Mark Davison. The image is entitled, "When Day became Night".

S.E. Meteorologist Ian Currie, is an acquaintance of mine, and I've been fortunate to meet Ian on a number of occasions, and attended quite a few of his Weather presentation talks.

It depicts the scene at Lower Kingswood, on the A217, about 6 Miles South of Epsom, in Surrey. This Photo was taken at around Midday and was typical of the intense darkness experienced, in and around the London area, at that time.

I was working in East Dulwich, S.E.London. We experienced the same intense darkness, after a few minutes of eerie calm, all hell broke loose. This was the 3rd, and most intense cell, during that very violent 3 hours, between 9.30 and 12.30 on the Morning of, 6th August 1981.

Regards,

Tom. 

Edited August 6, 2021 by TomSE12

[A Face like Thunder]

40 minutes ago, Weather-history said:

From 7th August 1981 Guardian

Interesting, and not always remembered, that the heaviest rainfall was actually in Central and NW England, with 132mm of rain recorded at Eaton near Tarporley in Cheshire and at Daventry Northamptonshire (Eden).  

[Weather-history]

 

From the Daily Telegraph of 7th Aug 1981

From the Liverpool Echo

From Kent Courier

From Bucks Examiner

From the Evening Standard of 6th August

[Sunny76]

I love the photo of darkness above St Paul’s Cathedral.

I can just imagine a pitch black sky in the background, against the London Skyline. Must have been eerie to witness such an event.

If this happened now, they would definitely say it was down to climate change lol. 

[A Face like Thunder]

On 06/08/2021 at 08:27, A Face like Thunder said:

40 years on and remembered as if it were yesterday. What a day! 

42 years ago today, three distinct thunder 'cells', the last of which turned day into night at midday in London / S London / Surrey.  

[Methuselah]

11 minutes ago, A Face like Thunder said:

42 years ago today, three distinct thunder 'cells', the last of which turned day into night at midday in London / S London / Surrey.  

It was similar in MK. I thought I was going blind! The CBs were seven miles high, if I remember correctly? 

[Weather-history]

Manchester Evening News

       

 

Mirror