3rd -4th July 2001 Severe Thunderstorms

[Weather-history]

I suspect many members who lived in Wales, western Scotland and England, will remember this event, nearly 10 years ago. On the evening of the 3rd of July, severe thunderstorms exploded across many western areas because of a trough after a day of heat with temperature reaching 32C in St Helier.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2001/brack/bracka20010704.gif

The storms caused extensive flooding and large rainfall totals in a number of places with Cardiff recording 67mm, Pembroke Dock 74mm, Aberporth 42.4mm. There were amazing and fierce lightning displays, (lightning set fire to a church in Havant, Hants,) that many people will never forget

Here's some more info on John Mason's site

http://www.geologywales.co.uk/storms/storm01.htm

http://www.geologywales.co.uk/storms/storm02.htm

Wetterzentrale's archive lightning chart for that day

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2001/sfloc/Rsfloc20010703.gif

Edited June 24, 2011 by Mr_Data

[AderynCoch]

Ten years ago? I don't believe it.

I'd finished my GCSEs the previous month, so I had the rest of the summer to myself and stayed up to watch the thunderstorms that night. What a fantastic spell of summery weather that was. No NW/SE split in sight.

[Evening thunder]

Wow, lightning frequency over 1 per second, that's something I'd like to see. Golf ball hail cracking someone's windscreen too. Some of the pictures on the second page are amazing!

I think I do remember some storms with lightning frequency of 2-5 seconds from 2005/6.

This is one example that the UK can just occasionally get some rather notable/severe thunderstorms, and not necessarily in the SE either.

[Carl46Wrexham]

Most violent thunderstorms I have ever experienced were on the night of July 3rd-4th 2001.

If my memory serves the storms lasted for nearly 5 hours here...at their peak lightning strikes were occurring in excess of 80 per minute...that went on for over an hour...the strobing effect was something special to witness...thunder seemingly never ending and coming from literally every direction as well as overhead. It turned incredibly dark quite a while before the storms arrived due to the anvil shadows being cast from the huge cells that were over the western side of the UK. All that thanks to an absolute beast of a thundery trough.

[jimbo36]

Wow, lightning frequency over 1 per second, that's something I'd like to see. Golf ball hail cracking someone's windscreen too. Some of the pictures on the second page are amazing!

I think I do remember some storms with lightning frequency of 2-5 seconds from 2005/6.

This is one example that the UK can just occasionally get some rather notable/severe thunderstorms, and not necessarily in the SE either.

If you like those sort of storms then come on the US Storm Chasing Tour next year, you'd love it.

As for our severe storm risk Monday / Tuesday, the last two runs have taken the best CAPE & LI into the near continent and North Sea, which is a shame because previous forecast would have given potential for similar severe storms like that you experienced 10 years ago. Might chnage again though

[Radiating Dendrite]

Most violent thunderstorms I have ever experienced were on the night of July 3rd-4th 2001.

If my memory serves the storms lasted for nearly 5 hours here...at their peak lightning strikes were occurring in excess of 80 per minute...that went on for over an hour...the strobing effect was something special to witness...thunder seemingly never ending and coming from literally every direction as well as overhead. It turned incredibly dark quite a while before the storms arrived due to the anvil shadows being cast from the huge cells that were over the western side of the UK. All that thanks to an absolute beast of a thundery trough.

Yes I remember these storms.

I lived in Wrexham at that time, I believe around 60mm of rain fell in a couple of hours which flooded the town centre (by where TJ Hughes and MVC use to be).

I remember watching by the window, best storm I have ever witnessed!

[Chloe]

Most severe thunderstorm which actually was a Supercell was on the 4th August 2004 the most violent thunderstorm ever in West London lightning every 2 secs i remember the lightning dector was goin mad!

[Evening thunder]

If you like those sort of storms then come on the US Storm Chasing Tour next year, you'd love it.

As for our severe storm risk Monday / Tuesday, the last two runs have taken the best CAPE & LI into the near continent and North Sea, which is a shame because previous forecast would have given potential for similar severe storms like that you experienced 10 years ago. Might chnage again though

This is something I'd love to do and hope to do sometime in the future! Unfortunately I won't be able to next year as for one it will be in the middle of my A level exams, but it's definitely on my hope-to-do list, hopefully Netweather will still be running tours then too.