Storms and Convective discussion - 1st May 2022 onwards

[Woodboss]

1 hour ago, Flash bang flash bang etc said:

A good storm. Not the best - a little too quick, too wet and very elevated. Also shame it didn’t stick around as it headed NE

evening was further blighted after Her Magesty’s Unfinest pulled me over just as I got home AT 3AM after going through a light that went red at the last minute. Apparently they would rather I slammed my brakes on and aquaplaned on the wet road.

What a great bunch of guys - shame they don’t understand basic science, and took £100 from me for basically just being there. Also just in case the police are reading this - don’t talk to me like I am your mate - you pulled me over because you were on a power trip. I am not your mate.

apologies but it’s really upset me. Good storm though. Might not chase in future though because it’s now cost me a small fortune  

Sorry to hear that flash,don't give up on the chasing! I wouldn't have slammed on my breaks either and risked hitting something or even worse someone by aquaplaning. The law ought to focus on the people I see every day looking down at their phones while driving and not paying attention to the roads instead of hiding their camera vans behind big roadsigns and trees and getting easy hits in the middle of the night when there's no one about!

[Flash bang flash bang etc]

Just now, Woodboss said:

Sorry to hear that flash,don't give up on the chasing! I wouldn't have slammed on my breaks either and risked hitting something or even worse someone by aquaplaning. The law ought to focus on the people I see every day looking down at their phones while driving and not paying attention to the roads instead of hiding their camera vans behind big roadsigns and trees and getting easy hits in the middle of the night when there's no one about!

I’m trying to learn my new camera, so it would be nice to get more practice soon if the situation allows for it

[Woodboss]

10 minutes ago, Nick L said:

Cheers! We had literally been sat there for 2 minutes haha.

I had one similar last night here in Sussex just a few hundred yards away,unfortunately didn't get it on film as I was running back to my house from the rain but was one of the best strikes I've seen and gunshot thunder!

[weatherobsuk]

You can always appeal and possibly get the money back if you can demonstrate that the road conditions weren't suitable at the time to be stopping at the intended distance/speed they were expecting you to. In today's era the courts are too busy to be mithering themselves with case's such as this so it'll likely be thrown out with the cops given a written notice on their record (which means more paperwork for them.) Unless they have clear-cut proof that you intentionally passed the red light without regard then it'll be fairly simple to overturn.

It's just one of those nuiances about driving, a few time's i've approached lights on amber in a 30mph zone with only tens of meters to spare and being tailgated at the same time, it's more safer to carry on (if the light has just changed to red by a second or two) than to slam on the brakes.

[Robbie Garrett]

 

[Woodboss]

10 minutes ago, Flash bang flash bang etc said:

I’m trying to learn my new camera, so it would be nice to get more practice soon if the situation allows for it

I'm hoping to get a new camera soon,trying to film storm's off my grainy phone camera doesn't quite cut it. Much better getting good lightning footage on a decent camera.

[Azazel]

2 minutes ago, Robbie Garrett said:

 

That's extraordinary if not sped up - which i'm pretty sure it is obviously looking at it.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Azazel

[alexisj9]

11 hours ago, Eagle Eye said:

A couple more from this insane Storm.

 

 

 

We just got the leftovers here, not very active at all, may be six or seven lightning flashes over half hour, and less rumbles. None the less it was better than nothing. Called it, when I saw where it was going, that I'd have to move west to see the storm at its best.

 

 

 

 

[alexisj9]

10 hours ago, Jamie M said:

Thoughts on the structure of this one as it arrived?

 

 

Was a shelf, I did see it here too, and the wind was as you would expect.

[Eagle Eye]

Here's some stills from the lightning earlier (no particular order).

Still of video suggests big shelf cloud

Continuing onwards

  Probably my most incredible captures of the Storm.

 

[alexisj9]

46 minutes ago, Azazel said:

That's extraordinary if not sped up - which i'm pretty sure it is obviously looking at it.

Looking at the strike rate at that time, I don't think it was sped up. When the line first went up, the lightning was really going for it, and that was the whole line that was of the coast in that vid.

Edit, sorry just looked again, think it was the in land line over Dorset, but the same happened there, lightning was very frequent.

Edited May 19, 2022 by alexisj9

[chapmanslade]

1 hour ago, SNOW_JOKE said:

You can always appeal and possibly get the money back if you can demonstrate that the road conditions weren't suitable at the time to be stopping at the intended distance/speed they were expecting you to. In today's era the courts are too busy to be mithering themselves with case's such as this so it'll likely be thrown out with the cops given a written notice on their record (which means more paperwork for them.) Unless they have clear-cut proof that you intentionally passed the red light without regard then it'll be fairly simple to overturn.

It's just one of those nuiances about driving, a few time's i've approached lights on amber in a 30mph zone with only tens of meters to spare and being tailgated at the same time, it's more safer to carry on (if the light has just changed to red by a second or two) than to slam on the brakes.

Serious thread drift, but passing a red light is an absolute offence - no need to prove intent or otherwise. The amber light is on for 4 to 6 seconds (depends on the speed limit) and gives enough time to stop before the red even in wet conditions. Passing through an amber light is fine, but not a red. As any driving instructor would tell you when approaching a green traffic light ..... what is it going to do next ? 

 

Anyway, back to the weather

[Flash bang flash bang etc]

1 hour ago, SNOW_JOKE said:

You can always appeal and possibly get the money back if you can demonstrate that the road conditions weren't suitable at the time to be stopping at the intended distance/speed they were expecting you to. In today's era the courts are too busy to be mithering themselves with case's such as this so it'll likely be thrown out with the cops given a written notice on their record (which means more paperwork for them.) Unless they have clear-cut proof that you intentionally passed the red light without regard then it'll be fairly simple to overturn.

It's just one of those nuiances about driving, a few time's i've approached lights on amber in a 30mph zone with only tens of meters to spare and being tailgated at the same time, it's more safer to carry on (if the light has just changed to red by a second or two) than to slam on the brakes.

Yeah but I’m worried about missing out on the things that a 4 hour awareness course will teach me that I haven’t learned in 20+ years of driving

I appeal everything. I live for the idea that someone has to read the meandering essays I pen for such situations, and perhaps I will include some convoluted evidence like a Skew-T diagram, just to give them something to scratch their heads over

[Flash bang flash bang etc]

1 hour ago, Woodboss said:

I'm hoping to get a new camera soon,trying to film storm's off my grainy phone camera doesn't quite cut it. Much better getting good lightning footage on a decent camera.

I have a Nikon D3500 that’s hardly been used properly yet. I gave it a whirl last night but my location got hit by large convective rain drops about 15 mins before the main event - which was way too brief to really set up for.

was looking forward to watching the storms retreat and revealing some anvils lighting up (ala the 2015 storm that went over London) but it just became a very damp squib once it reached east London and didn’t get to enjoy what is often the best part to do some proper practice

[tomp456]

Last night gets a 7 out of 10.

Lovely light show over the channel before it made landfall near Bognor and with it torrential rain.

Still has some way to beat the June 2019 channel bonanza. 

[Katrine Basso]

Last night in South Ockendon I was blessed with a magnificent display of thunder and lightning which lasted from 11pm to well after midnight long with a heavy downpour of rain. It was totally unexpected as the wunderground weather forecast was chopping and changing their forecast and it made it look like there was a poor chance of convective weather and that were would only minimal amount of rain. There was lightning seen in my front garden and back garden.  As my hearing is not so good and I have double glazing the thunder seemed not so loud and the sheet lightning was completely silent. I saw the first flash of lightning from the kitchen looking out to the back garden as I jumped out of a mixture of surprise and shock.  The rain lasted well into the morning and only stopped at approximately 8:30am

Edited May 19, 2022 by Katrine Basso
Editted for errors

[Windblade]

Didn't post last night as was pretty late but I finally broke my 4 year night-time storm dry spell.  We had horizonal purple anvil streamers to my west across the whole sky, and azure blue forks to my south. It was fantastic. Looking on bliztortung this morning those storms were massive. Tbh I didn't pay attention to the forecast for the past couple of days but noticed (and even commented to my mother) the sky was looking really unstable yesterday evening when we were eating about 6.30pm. Did not expect a fantastic light show later that night however. I had the window open as it was extremely muggy and about 11pm I heard light raindrops which I always find relaxing, especially at night and especially since its been so humid recently. About 10 - 15 minutes later I started to hear distant thunder and noticed it was getting louder.   Off went the lights and open went the curtains! I watched the whole thing come and go, from 11.30pm to 12.30am. The rain got very intense, the wind was biblical and the lightning was absolutely fantastic and went right over the house . Lovely way to end the evening. Now being greedy and hoping for more. 

[weatherobsuk]

I didn't see any distant lightning overnight from here due to the low overcast cloud although if the storms were typical summer high-pressure based (the kind initiated by daytime heating under clear skies) then there's no doubt with some cloud heights at 40,000ft there'd be distant tops flickering like christmas lights. At least tomorrow is looking better for us in the NW/North with the Met Office suggesting heavy showers moving through during the afternoon. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by SNOW_JOKE

[CurtisOliver]

I can't believe that system is still going and is the size of Belgium. 119k strikes by 6:30GMT. Does anyone know how many it is now, now that it is still alive over mainland Europe?

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by CurtisOliver

[ChannelThunder]

2 hours ago, alexisj9 said:

Looking at the strike rate at that time, I don't think it was sped up. When the line first went up, the lightning was really going for it, and that was the whole line that was of the coast in that vid.

Edit, sorry just looked again, think it was the in land line over Dorset, but the same happened there, lightning was very frequent.

It's definitely sped up, the flashes were fast and frequent, but not that much so. The speed the land is moving beneath seems fast too although not as obviously sped up as the lightning

[Freeze]

2 hours ago, tomp456 said:

Last night gets a 7 out of 10.

Lovely light show over the channel before it made landfall near Bognor and with it torrential rain.

Still has some way to beat the June 2019 channel bonanza. 

I don't recall june 2019? July 2017 is the most insane storm I've ever witnessed. 

[Flash bang flash bang etc]

18 minutes ago, Freeze said:

I don't recall june 2019? July 2017 is the most insane storm I've ever witnessed. 

Was that the one that hit bornemouth?

 

I’m thinking of a 2015 one that was similar to last night’s but had surface-based elements and evolved into the most stunning flickering anvil I’ve ever seen as it moved into essex

another similar one was probably the 2019 import that hit Brighton area and moved NE. That again seemed to have more forks but was possibly just down to my location

for sheet lightning there was a system that streamed into the U.K. one evening over Sussex and Kent, but was only really electrical on the very eastern edge. I didn’t chase that day as the forecast looked great for Guildford (hoping it would strike the crown court a few times) but it didn’t want to and we got very thundery rain instead - which just left a sky of regular flashes.

im putting all my footage and photos over the years onto a free computer I got from work. Stuck an SSD in it and it’s got a 1GB regular drive and it’s super quick - perfect as a library of storm events!  so eventually I’ll know what years and months I’m talking about

[tomp456]

25 minutes ago, Freeze said:

I don't recall june 2019? July 2017 is the most insane storm I've ever witnessed. 

It was mostly out in the channel followed by a direct hit towards the Eastbourne - Hastings area. I was on Worthing Pier watching the lightning for a good 2 hours. 

[Freeze]

4 minutes ago, tomp456 said:

It was mostly out in the channel followed by a direct hit towards the Eastbourne - Hastings area. I was on Worthing Pier watching the lightning for a good 2 hours. 

Ah yes, the one I'm referring to in july2017 was the direct hit on worthing with lightning every second and I remember the hail being the size of pound coins. I remember june 2019 now and thinking,'it's hitting Eastbourne  again' lol

Edited May 19, 2022 by Freeze

[Iceman2606]

Night-time Thunderstorms - Northamptonshire, UK - 18 May 2022