The Kent/Sussex big storm - 03RD Oct 2013

[Neilsouth]

This for myself will be in living memory as the second best thunderstorm I have ever witnessed, it felt like I was in florida!

 

I wasn't expecting anything as violent going by the TV weather, but there were some signs such as a humid atmosphere, altocumulus and a generally stormy feel to the air. During the morning it was very wet and then by 3pm ish it felt cold but the evening was completely different. My lightning app was going crazy to my south east and looking at the radar was met with a pretty incredible radar image, however as of  yet nothing inland!

 

By late evening, I was on the PC and the internet was getting worse and I heard static on my pc speakers, the lights also kept on dimming. I had a phone call to let me know lightning was outside, annoyingly my lightning detector was down and didn't pick this up. As I watched it outside I for the first time in my life had a little bit of fear but also excitement. I also have NEVER turned my PC off for a storm but that evening I did, the air was popping, my speakers were crackling and the power kept on dimming in the property.

 

Suddenly the lightning became almost severe, It was striking with such force that it felt like windows were about to blow out. I'm not making this up it was crazy, then huge bolts shot out of the sky and hit a number of places in the area, the church behind my place was hit and the bangs kept on going. I actually took my arms off the metal windows incase my place was hit. Car alarms were going off and finally the area went completely dark, all the lights went out. The smell of smoke was in the air.

 

As the night went on, you could tell it was dying away as the lightning became elevated.

 

I was utterly gutted I did not have my camcorder with me, in what was probably the second best storm in my memory so far. I never EVER thought i'd see the day that a storm could rival that of 1994. Here's a radar image to show it at it's force.

 

Does ANYONE have any footage?

See Radar Image!

[Bluebreezer54]

Good result there Victor but surely someone must have some footage, it was a quite widespread event in that neck of the woods last night.

[Neilsouth]

Anyone know why it ended up so intense? It was worse than any summer heat, cold front storms i've come across since 94

[Coast]

This for myself will be in living memory as the second best thunderstorm I have ever witnessed, it felt like I was in florida!

 

Well done Victor, no moaning now then? :lol: 

 

There's nothing uploaded to YouTube yet.

[Neilsouth]

Well done Victor, no moaning now then?

 

There's nothing uploaded to YouTube yet.

 

I have a duty to moan

 

Besides

 

I was utterly gutted I did not have my camcorder with me

 

[Supacell]

Anyone know why it ended up so intense? It was worse than any summer heat, cold front storms i've come across since 94

 

 

I will try... what happened yesterday was a classic plume set up. Very warm high theta-e plume being advected north from a long way south being destabilised by cold upper levels overspreading the plume ahead of a cold front. Essentially a warm, humid airmass absolutely loaded with energy and moisture being held in place and then as the air aloft cools it is all set free. The storms did not last that long beyond the south coast, which is why they were only briefly very active, and probably explains the lack of reports. A very good night for a small population of the country.

 

A similar thing happened further west but to less of an extent. As to why it was more intense than any other event you have seen, I don't know, maybe this time you just happened to be in the right place at the right time

Edited October 4, 2013 by Supacell

[Tamara]

They obviously invigorated as they headed inland across Kent because (thankfully) there was nothing like that here and the rain was just moderately heavy most of the time and kept stopping and starting. But in any case the radar appears to prove that, by showing that the worst swerved to my east. From my kitchen window yesterday evening all the lightning was seen passing that way

 

As Supercell says above, all the ingredients and potential were there for some quite big storms and as stated on the SE regional thread early evening it seemed highly likely that the storms once developed over Northern France would be sustained over the channel as the most unstable air was still transferring northwards right into the evening time and aided by relatively warm SST's steepening lapse rates after darkness.

 

Easy to see also why the rain band earlier in the day produced little if anything thundery in nature at all

Edited October 4, 2013 by Tamara תָּמָר

[Neilsouth]

Thankyou to both of you, well explained and understood

[Neilsouth]

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/weather-warning-6899/

 

[Tamara]

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/weather-warning-6899/

 

  Reading through that, I was lucky with quite an escape last night it seems - just a matter of miles can make a large difference

[Jax]

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/weather-warning-6899/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

you have working streetlights during austerity!

[Mapantz]

Good account, VM.

 

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere on the internets, or if you have seen it personally, but here you go:

 

 

That's some force alright. Good example of what you can get even at this time of the year when there's good moisture return.

 

Brilliant video, thanks for sharing. I haven't had thunder like that here since 1997, where i took refuge in a pub. There were multiple CG's coming down in a field opposite the Quay Inn pub - quite frankly, it was akin to the USA at times. The same evening, i was sheltering from rain under a tunnel with my brother and some friends (on the way back from the pub lol) when a chimmney was hit opposite, which collapsed and crushed a car parked on the main road below.  Only 2005 came close to it and that was the last direct storm i've had.

[Neilsouth]

Good account, VM.

 

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere on the internets, or if you have seen it personally, but here you go:

 

 

That's some force alright. Good example of what you can get even at this time of the year when there's good moisture return.

 

All that was striking over my house!!!!!!!!

[MP-R]

Excellent video - great thunder. Reminds me of 23rd July this year in the West Country, only the lightning was a lot more frequent then. Just shows what October can conjure up!

[Neilsouth]

Got another

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7ibvsn9QUXU

[Neilsouth]

nice

http://kentonline.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

[ItIsGee]

Got another

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7ibvsn9QUXU

brilliant vid!

 

 

Good account, VM.

 

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere on the internets, or if you have seen it personally, but here you go:

 

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=imQ0FRYAS-8

 

That's some force alright. Good example of what you can get even at this time of the year when there's good moisture return.

 

 

very USA esq thunder and lightning! shame it was over your neck of the wood and not mine!