Convective / Storm Chat And Discussion

[andymusic]

Cracking storm just came through here - had to switch computers off - loads of lightning and thunder - brilliant

and hail - lots of hail - made me think a tornado was on the cards!

Edited May 9, 2011 by andymusic

[NL]

Did a time-lapse of a storm that was just off to the west of me yesterday.

Quality is somewhat downgraded on youtube.

[Jackfrost]

Intense storm just hit Nelson; plenty of hail, torrential rain, squally winds and best of all, constant thunder and lightning for half an hour!

[Crimson_Sprite]

It's a bit deceptive, the showers are moving north but they're also moving east. I've been watching them for the last couple of hours and I reckon where you are should catch them in a couple of hours or so, providing you don't slip through the gaps between them.

The band of showers over Wales at the moment looks very interesting, if it maintains its intensity as it moves east.

I calculate around 1600 before that lot reaches where I am.

yeah you're right. It seems that the Wales storms are deffo more easterly in their direction, while that line over Birmingham (which now looks pathetic on radar) was going north. So its as if there is a northly vector preceding that line of storms out in Wales. That line in Wales is looking Might Fine though!!!! Lucky sods!!!

[Carl46Wrexham]

The storm is ever so slighty to my east (a few miles) so I reckon its bang on for Wrexham , and there appears to be another one just down by Newtown on the same track.

Moderate rain , 6 good clacks (my dogs are jumping all over the kitchen!) temp 14.5.

Keep you informed of the next one.

I can already see the sky darkening to the S/SW of me as the other heavy shower to the N/NE of me is rumbling away now and then. Black one way and the other...but sunshine beating down.

Edited May 9, 2011 by Carl43Wrexham

[Snow free zone]

That lot just off the coast near Southport seems to be intensifying, and has just produced a lightning strike.

[Crimson_Sprite]

Did a time-lapse of a storm that was just off to the west of me yesterday.

Quality is somewhat downgraded on youtube.

that was really cool!!!

[Cloudwatcher]

Its all suddenly kicked off here! torrential rain and clap of thunder :-)

[Phelpsy]

No anvils visible as yet, but plenty of towering Caulis lol. Very very windy now though.

[paul m]

Nowcast saying thundery area very close to here i cannot see it

[Crimson_Sprite]

Its all suddenly kicked off here! torrential rain and clap of thunder :-)

ahh, youve got that line Ive been watching on radar that was approaching birmingham and then fizzled as it passed bham north. It must have re-organised a bit!!

[AderynCoch]

KABOOM!

[Andy Bown]

Perfect clean convective day today .

Im following the radar too, it looks like the last frame is showing them deteriorate

It's normal for showers to intensify and then lose potency over and over again. If you have the NW radar it's possible to see

that very clearly on the 5 minute time frames. It's something to do with whether the cloud is in updraught or downdraught mode,

updraught will mean generally less heavy rain while downdraught will be the heaviest.

(Sorry i can't explain it any more technically than that!)

[Coast]

Latest satellite points to the cloudy areas being currently discussed:

The sferics do seem to be heading up through Wales and across into the Midlands and further NE

[NL]

that was really cool!!!

Thanks CP, the video is much clearer/sharper on my PC than the one on youtube, shot with a canon 350D. Looks like I'll attempt some more later as storms travel up this way this afternoon/evening, hopefully catch some lightning too..

[Jane Louise]

A new warning from SKYWARN:

Last Update: 1230UTC Monday 9th May 2011

SKYWARN UK SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #027

ISSUED: 1230UTC, MONDAY 9TH MAY 2011

SKYWARN UK HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING REGIONS:

NORTHERN IRELAND

SOUTHWEST ENGLAND

SOUTHERN ENGLAND

WALES

MIDLANDS

NORTHERN ENGLAND

SOUTHERN SCOTLAND

IN EFFECT FROM 1200UTC UNTIL 2100UTC ON MONDAY 9TH MAY 2011.

POST FRONTAL CONVECTION FORMING LINES

THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTING THE INDICATED REGIONS IN THE TIME PERIOD SPECIFIED. THREATS WITHIN THIS WATCH INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

HEAVY RAIN...FLASH FLOODING...HAIL...LIGHTNING...STRONG GUSTS

DISCUSSION:

FORECAST THUNDERSTORMS SPREADING ACROSS MOST PARTS FROM THE SOUTHWEST ARE DEVELOPING INTO LINES OR TRAINS, RUNNING OVER CERTAIN AREAS ALMOST CONTINUOUSLY. MAIN RISK IS FROM HEAVY RAIN CORES CAUSING FLASH FLOODING AND LOW VISIBILITY. SOME STRONG GUSTS EXPECTED BUT NOT SEVERE. FLASH FLOODING REPORTED IN CORNWALL RECENTLY.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED AND SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO REPORT ALL FACTORS EXCEEDING ACTIVATION CRITERIA. THIS WATCH MAY BE UPDATED REGULARLY OR UPGRADED.

http://www.skywarn.org.uk/current.html

[Crimson_Sprite]

Perfect clean convective day today .

It's normal for showers to intensify and then lose potency over and over again. If you have the NW radar it's possible to see

that very clearly on the 5 minute time frames. It's something to do with whether the cloud is in updraught or downdraught mode,

updraught will mean generally less heavy rain while downdraught will be the heaviest.

(Sorry i can't explain it any more technically than that!)

yes ive got (and am currently watching ) NW radar I watched that line be all red and orange SW of Brum, but its gone to green and yellow now... now just green and seems ot be loosing the precip a bit.. They were going to miss me anyway, so not that bothered, but I hope they re-intensify for heads up in Yorkshire

[Cloudwatcher]

Very weak, heading north of this location now. Not much electrification. Still its a start!

[SalopWatcher]

First rumble of the day here...

[Coast]

A flash of lightning tears across the sky over Poole marina in Dorset at 11pm

Sunbathers and staycationers have had their fingers crossed that the glorious sunshine would continue in the UK but the mini heatwave went out with a spectacular bang this weekend after the country was hit by thunderstorms and heavy showers. Stunning images taken on Sunday show a bolt of lightning as it streaks across the sky and lights up the night sky above Poole marina in Dorset. The Met Office received calls from weather watchers who reported that conditions had created a rare ‘roll cloud’. The low-level cloud makes for a striking sight, forming into a horizontal tube across the sky that appears to be completely detached from the higher level clouds. The downpours across the UK followed a week of wildfires, which had accompanied the unseasonably hot and dry conditions.

The wet weather came on the back of a ‘Spanish plume’ – a pulse of warm, moist air which moves its way north from Iberia, across France and into the UK. Up to an inch of rain fell in Shap, Cumbria, with around three-quarters of an inch in Yeovilton, Somerset, and Benson, Oxfordshire. At RAF Valley, in Anglesey, 1.04in (26.4mm) fell. Flash flooding hit properties across south Somerset in Chard, Crewkerne and Castle Cary. ‘It’s been a fascinating weekend,’ said Met Office forecaster Michael Lawrence. ‘It was like two totally different days, all wrapped up into just a few hours. First the sunshine and the humidity, then the thunderstorms and heavy rain. The rain has now made way for much fresher conditions across the country and that’s how it’s going to stay for the rest of this week.

‘It’s going to get cooler now, both by day and night, with sunshine and showers. ‘The focus of the showers will, however, shift towards the South-West, with the South-East remaining dry and brightest. ‘Overall, it’s going to feel a lot fresher and temperatures will drop a little, nearer to the typical for this time of year.’ The shift from sunshine to storms was captured by the two photographs above, taken just a few hours apart. Wearing shorts and a vest, a cyclist pedals through the spectacular six-acre carpet of bluebells in Enys Gardens near Penryn, Cornwall, on Friday afternoon. At 11pm, just a few hours later, a lightning bolt struck above Poole marina as the storms moved in.

Firefighters are now investigating whether the lightning bolt was responsible for a blaze which destroyed a new custom-made £7million yacht. The Sunseeker vessel was to be the pride and joy of a Mexican businessman. As it was, he watched from the marina as 65ft flames wrecked his dream. The tycoon, who has not been named, was due to take delivery of the 34ft fibreglass yacht this week. Other multimillion-pound yachts had to be moved as the flames took hold. One witness said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it, it started off as just a few flames but in minutes, the whole boat was alight.’ Dorset Fire and Rescue said it was so far unaware what had started the fire, but arson has been ruled out.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1385076/UK-weather-Britain-lashed-thunderstorms-sunshine-turns-showers.html#ixzz1LrK32xvY

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9013875.Blaze_drama_as___9m_Sunseeker_goes_up_in_flames___updated_with_video/?ref=mmsp

[Guest]

That's one of the most incredible lightning pictures I've ever seen.

[alijoy60]

Ainsdale Southport Merseyside - storm just arrived - lightning every minute. Now pretty much overhead. Travelling from SE.

[paul m]

That is a very good picture. Pity about the sunseeker. So dare i ask what are the chances of leeds seeing anything today

[Jane Louise]

My daughter has a storm in Cardiff grrrrr :lol:

[The watcher]

All kicking off now it seems with lightning becoming more frequent in Ireland in the last hour. Still nothing around where I'm located, I seem to be under the shield today.