Your Thunderstorm memories (scary or exciting!)

[Steve C]

This is great, just the kind of thing I love to read. Keep em coming. I kept storm diaries from 1991 until 2000 but I lost them when I moved from York.

@Steve. Poor bunny. What a way to end up. Your neighbour wasn't a bunny boiler was she with a huge crush on you?

No, he was a miserable old git. One thing I did learn from him was never to be a grumpy old sod to neigbours' children - tolerate their playfulness to a degree.

Basically my Dad had bought the rabbit, but then my parents split up and we moved. Although Mum (who'd taken possession of it) looked after the rabbit fine, she wasn't that keen on having a rabbit as a pet. When it escaped, the neighbour offered to look after it and Mum accepted. We'd (brother and I) go round the neighbours' to see the rabbits occasionally. It then bred with another rabbit they'd kept and we'd go and see our rabbit and the kittens for a while. Then one by one, all the rabbits disappeared...

[Carl46Wrexham]

1st/2nd July 1968 : Brown rain, daytime darkness, one vicious thunderstorm following another. Such was the case that an observer at Shrewsbury gave up counting the number of storms witnessed at 9! Electricity substation less than a quarter mile from my house struck by lightning...the noise I have never forgotten

3rd/4th July 2001 : Excess of 80 lightning strikes per minute at the peak of the storms...almost strobe like...constant thunder, that went on for about five hours before slowly moving away.

Edited August 9, 2012 by Carl46Wrexham

[Andy Bown]

See this thread ... http://forum.netweather.tv/topic/49171-your-thunderstorm-memories-scary-or-exciting/

My memories are on the 1st page and I have nothing to add to it in the last few years lol !

[Methuselah]

1st/2nd July 1968 : Brown rain, daytime darkness, one vicious thunderstorm following another. Such was the case that an observer at Shrewsbury gave up counting the number of storms witnessed at 9! Electricity substation less than a quarter mile from my house struck by lightning...the noise I have never forgotten

3rd/4th July 2001 : Excess of 80 lightning strikes per minute at the peak of the storms...almost strobe like...constant thunder, that went on for about five hours before slowly moving away.

I can remember the brown rain, the local papers called it 'red', falling on a Monday morning, after an immensely hot and humid night...

But, I guess, the biggest storm I witnessed (technically missed) was in July 1983...Shotgun thunder on the platform at Northampton station, followed by a spectacular fireworks display throughout the journey back to Bletchley. By which time, it was all over!

[Sainsbo]

Don't remember the date, but there was a storm around 2005 that caused havoc here. Frequent Thunder and Lightning for about 2 hours, and flash floods. Also April this year had some memorable storms here, a hailstorm that looked like we had just had a heavy snowfall, and the first Funnel cloud I have ever seen.

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

Sometime back in the late 1990's there was a horrific storm that went on almost all night, with lightning that caused booming thunder and then an hour after that just constant lightning with no thunder, was unexplainable, and a night that ill never forget, it was mid july i think 1998/99.

2nd memorable storm day was July 16th or something in 2002 on one of the days when the commonwealth games at Manchester was taking place. Was in Peterborough city centre, with the main street becoming a river and people were all just lined up underneath the shop entrances! constant lightning with cracking thunder, and there were about 4/5 more storms followed that one too, even on that same night, there was another thunderstorm! Really strange on that day as the storms were moving N, but winds were blowing in from the N/NE totally the opposite way to where the storms were going!

Onwards from that, up to 2006, there were a numerous amount of decent storm activity, where has it all gone now? :L. Since 2006 we haven't had anything remarkable, well certainly not like the ones as stated above. Hopefully we'll be compensated sooner or later!

[Keraunic]

Great stories guys. Thanks. Love it.

One of my storms wasn't perhaps the fiercest but it started out the weirdest. It was May 2000 and it didn't really feel as though there was thunder about. But at about 2pm there was the strangest sounds Ive ever heard. it was as though a huge heavy bowling ball was being rolled across a wooden floor. It kept rolling closer and then receding into the distance. It just didn't sound like thunder to me. But it was and the thunder storm that hit York was a cracker. Constant lightning and gunshot thunder for at least a good hour. And heavy rain. Brilliant and the strange sounding thunder was mentioned by one or two people at work the next day.

Another one was while I was in Gedney near Spalding in Lincs'. Friday May 30th 1969. It had been building up all day and at about 8pm I could see it across the flat landscape. Gunmetal grey sky and zig zags of lightning approaching like an advancing army. When it really got going it was very very fierce. At one point all the lights went out, came on again and I'll never forget the BOOM which followed as all the doors flew open. :o A house had been hit just across the field from us. awful for them but to me as a 13 year old it was magic.

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!topic/uk.sci.weather/UIpaIsxpzPU%5B1-25%5D

This is almost certainly what I was on about chaps, read this! 3rd July 1999. Was truely amazing!

[Methuselah]

I forgot the one in Glenurquhart, in about 1992...

I was out by the car, when all-of-a-sudden the telephone wires went a fuzzy blue colour, the hairs on my back and arms went up and I ran indoors. The next second, the lightning flashed and all the house-lights came on - even though they were all switched off...

[Keraunic]

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!topic/uk.sci.weather/UIpaIsxpzPU%5B1-25%5D

This is almost certainly what I was on about chaps, read this! 3rd July 1999. Was truely amazing!

WOW! That sounds spectacular and no mistake. What a night that must have been. Oh I wish we had them lime that now. *sigh* I've bookmarked that anyways. Cheers East.

[Keraunic]

I forgot the one in Glenurquhart, in about 1992...

I was out by the car, when all-of-a-sudden the telephone wires went a fuzzy blue colour, the hairs on my back and arms went up and I ran indoors. The next second, the lightning flashed and all the house-lights came on - even though they were all switched off...

Cripes! Lucky escape there RP. They say that is the first sign that you're about to be struck. :o

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

WOW! That sounds spectacular and no mistake. What a night that must have been. Oh I wish we had them lime that now. *sigh* I've bookmarked that anyways. Cheers East.

Haha no problem ! Can remember being too scared to even open my eyes initially when i was awakened by the thunder. Must have been only 7 or something !

[Evening thunder]

https://groups.googl...paIsxpzPU[1-25]

This is almost certainly what I was on about chaps, read this! 3rd July 1999. Was truely amazing!

Blimey that sounds amazing, it's amazing how strong storms can get occasionally even here in the UK with the right conditions!

[Azazel]

The best storm i have ever seen was sometime in may 1999. think it may have been towards the end, not sure. i was 15 at the time and going to florida the next day. I was in the woods and climbing the trees with my friends as you do out here in the countryside. I looked over to the horizon and i saw the most perfectly defined anvil i have ever seen, it was textbook with what looked like an overshooting top and judging by wind direction it was coming our way. I even remember shouting down to my friends "looks like we might be in for a bit of thunder!"

i climbed down from the tree and we went to my friends house to grab a couple of cans of beer (tut tut) and sit in his garden as the storm approached. When it got closer, there was beautiful structure visibile, no heat haze obscuring the base of the cloud which was clearly visible with tendrils of scud crawling along the base and the sky behind it turned a curious bright orange. Desperate to get a better look, i headed into the village centre by which time the storm was fast approaching. It got so dark at 1pm on a may afternoon that the streetlights came on (day darkness)

there was a real eerie calm and the wind seemed to be blowing towards the storm which at the time i thought was off because wind normally blew from the direction of the storm (obviously i didnt know about inflow/outflow etc back then) the wind also felt hot and the sky was a really really deep shade of sea green with whispy white scud circulating the base at an incredible speed.

Suddenly almost right above us, the clouds began really rotating and 'sucked up' in the middle. I thought at the time it didnt look real and almost like a playstation game or something. then it began to fill and extend down towards us, basically dropping a funnel cloud ontop of us which whipped up the air around my feet and my hair.

At that point it was time to run for it and as soon as we turned on our heels, a flash of bright red lightning and the loudest crack of thunder before the heavens opened up and dropped the heaviest rain ive still ever seen til this day with constant thunder and lightning

amazing

[Methuselah]

Cripes! Lucky escape there RP. They say that is the first sign that you're about to be struck.

Hence the Ussain Bolt!

[Sprites]

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!topic/uk.sci.weather/UIpaIsxpzPU%5B1-25%5D

This is almost certainly what I was on about chaps, read this! 3rd July 1999. Was truely amazing!

i have about 2 hours of video from these storms, see the video grabs in my gallery.

[Keraunic]

Why has my thread been amalgamated with another? As I couldn't find it under my title I thought it has been taken down for some reason. Could someone please tell me if I did something wrong.

My original post seems a tad redundant now and I'm a bit baffled.

Edited August 9, 2012 by Keraunophile

[Methuselah]

I'd guess that the threads have been merged due to their similarity, and to save bandwidth (?)...So no, K, you haven't done anything wrong!

[Steve C]

Cripes! Lucky escape there RP. They say that is the first sign that you're about to be struck.

Yes, that would have been mightily scary! If I'd been in the open, I'd have immediately been in a crouch!

Edited August 10, 2012 by Steve C

[Aaron]

15th June 2009, frequent lightning, booming thunder, hailstones, gusty winds, flickering power, inch of rain in half an hour, flooding, power outages in parts of the city - crazy day it was.

16th of September 2006 - one of the worst ones I've seen in the UK, there was a 'tornado' apparently, but most likely straight-line winds, tore off roofs, ripped up trees etc.

[Keraunic]

I'd guess that the threads have been merged due to their similarity, and to save bandwidth (?)...So no, K, you haven't done anything wrong!

Oh, ok RP. That's ok then. Cheers.

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

i have about 2 hours of video from these storms, see the video grabs in my gallery.

Is there a link you can send to me mate? Them storms that night were off the scale!

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

Now look at that for the UK! Thats what I'm talking about! (July 3rd 1999)

Oops, image hasnt come out! check it out though.

Edited August 10, 2012 by East_England_Stormchaser91

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

Now look at that for the UK! Thats what I'm talking about! (July 3rd 1999)

[Bolt from the Blue]

My favourite storm memory took place on the Thursday 25th June 2009. It was warm and humid that week and glastonbury festival was happening at the time (so it would have to rain at some point!). I was driving back from work I took a look at the sky which was very hazy and you could only just make out the tops of a few towering cu clouds. When I arrived home from work the air felt really muggy, and I decided to go for a cycle ride which took me out towards Bedchester (a small village nr Shaftesbury) which is approx 7 miles away from home. As I began cycling I was getting a nice breeze but also a lot of storm/lightning bugs were sticking themselves to my arms. The air was very still and the atmosphere seemed noticably quiet as I cycled down remote country lanes. Then when I reached the top of the hill I stopped to take a look at the view and catch my breath. The sky looked sort of grey on the horizon but you couldnt work out if it was clear sky or a dark cloud due to the haze and poor visibility. It was at this point, out of nowhere a huge CG caught my eye (and also made me jump!) which was followed a few seconds later by a low rumble. I was quite worried at this point because I was 7 miles from my house and didnt know what to do to keep safe from the lightning as I was sat on what was potentially a giant lightning rod!. I decided the only option was to cycle as fast as I could and try to get home before the storm reached me. As I was cycling I could just hear the thuder getting louder and louder as it got closer, which in turn made me pedal harder. When I finally got back home I was completely breathless and could barely walk due to pedalling so hard, but was just glad to be safe and dry. I made my way upstairs to watch the rest of the storm from the bedroom window. The lightning and thunder was very close because it happened at the same time, and I somehow got a static shock from the window! The power went off and the storm also broke our router for the internet. After the storm had passed I went outside and it was noticeably cooler and the air felt a lot fresher. I could hear sirens coming up the road which turned out to be a fire engine, so I decided to get back on my bike and follow it. It ended up in the at a house near the church which had a thatched roof and was on fire. As I looked on from a distance I saw someone walking their dog coming up the road and asked them what happened, and they told me that the house had been struck but everyone was okay. This made me realise how close the lightning was.

The best part of this storm was being chased by it on my bike, although it was scary at the time it was also a fantastic adrenaline rush and made me feel alive!