Odd Thunderstorms at the coast in hot Weather ?

[ancientsolar]

Some discussion has been taking place in the summer model discussion thread , raising 2006 and the hot weather

I was on holiday that year with my Late grandmother in WestonSM - the skies were blue but as we walked along the Sea front, there would be these small puffy clouds, almost like cotton candy floss, and you could even see the blue sky through them, - but these low clouds were producing a scattering of CG strikes  into the ocean. 
There were no Cumulonimbus or anything that resembled a potentially stormy scene. 

So what type of cloud and storm was I seeing ? 
Has anyone ever experienced such phenomena ?
Although rare to me as I don't live at the coast, are they more common than I think ?

[Andy Bown]

I suppose it could have been a small elevated storm? I do recall being in Cornwall one summer and witnessing several CGs striking the sea from a very discreet storm cloud. 

[ancientsolar]

2 minutes ago, Andy Bown said:

I suppose it could have been a small elevated storm? I do recall being in Cornwall one summer and witnessing several CGs striking the sea from a very discreet storm cloud. 

thing is, it was elevated like it was a low mist touching a valley, but it was just 4-5 puffy clouds just in the Sea, with very visible lightning strikes from the Sea,  - when you looked up, it was just more blue sky
- or perhaps I could describe them as very very low level semi-transparent cumulus .

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

1 hour ago, ancientsolar said:

thing is, it was elevated like it was a low mist touching a valley, but it was just 4-5 puffy clouds just in the Sea, with very visible lightning strikes from the Sea,  - when you looked up, it was just more blue sky
- or perhaps I could describe them as very very low level semi-transparent cumulus .

Very interesting. Usually a lightning Cloud needs a good height with a healthy updraft to be producing lightning of a decent level, as this enables the ice crystals to produce more potential for a discharge. They were more than likely elevated CB’s. This makes sense, as summer 2006 was fantastically plumey and I’ve often seen lightning from relatively non dramatic looking clouds in a plume setup. Usually early in the morning. 

Edited June 14, 2023 by East_England_Stormchaser91

[ancientsolar]

13 minutes ago, East_England_Stormchaser91 said:

Very interesting. Usually a lightning Cloud needs a good height with a healthy updraft to be producing lightning of a decent level, as this enables the ice crystals to produce more potential for a discharge. They were more than likely elevated CB’s. This makes sense, as summer 2006 was fantastically plumey and I’ve often seen lightning from relatively non dramatic looking clouds in a plume setup. Usually early in the morning. 

well we are talking 16-17 years ago, i'd been interested in the weather since 2000 when we had a number of very soggy Autumns causing floods almost every year. 

regarding 2006 , I've been looking at CB clouds - and if anything it looks like the upper part of this image (source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumulonimbus_calvus  

 of course most CBs have this deep dark lower section but the ones I saw certainly didn't 

Cumulonimbus incus - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Again the upper section of this somewhat resembles what I saw, a few of them , lighter in colour and puffy , with blue sky between each  - it was just remarkably strange, I couldn't hear the thunder, but I saw the strikes. 

It's a test of memory, I have tried for ages to find pictures that match what I saw. I can see it clearly in my mind because it took my by surprise.. as an 18  year old, no tshirt walking along the beach to catch a glimpse of these odd thunder clouds while the hot sunshine just went on for the entire week.

 

 

[ancientsolar]

I think I found my answer - a dissipating thunderstorm - doesn't have energy to develop anymore , perhaps being on the coast it formed with a sea Breeze but its source no longer existed, 
so perhaps I saw just the puffy candyfloss  clouds of a dying storm that never really full matured ? 

[MP-R]

Funnily enough I’ve seen lightning from rather unthreatening clouds on a few occasions. I saw lightning from what were no more than castellanus clouds in June 2003 in this country, as well as over the desert in Nevada and while living in Madrid. The common denominator seems to be destabilising conditions but also dry air.