When was the last time you saw a cracking thunderstorm ?

[stewfox]

I am talking about the UK.

 

I have seen heavy rain and strong winds in recent months but nothing more, were  'heavy' thunderstorms more common in the past ?

 

6th August 1981 I went ice skating that day and it was really 'dark' at noon. Love something like that again.

 

 

^{http://www.ukweatherworld.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/44349-when-day-became-night-thursday-6th-august-1981/}

[TimMB]

Sad to say, I don't remember. I am really hoping this warm weather will bring us some, fingers crossed!

[Methuselah]

Late June/early July 2009, in Inverness...Had them on every day for about a week...

 

Sorry, that was a lie - late June 2011, in Anerley...

Edited July 17, 2013 by A Boy Named Sue

[Evening thunder]

28th June 2012 at about 3:30amAlthough actually one evening last August was decent for distant lightning, and then an overhead storm - though the lightning was less frequent, but a few good bolts seen.

[Marcus_surfer]

June 25 2009 the date Michael Jackson died, a cracking heavy thunderstorm over South Wales.

[Carl46Wrexham]

July 29th 2008 was the last real corking episode of thunderstorms I have witnessed. Also the last time we got that rarest of creatures - night time activity.

 

Prior to that 3rd/4th July 2001.

 

We are long overdue another good show.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Carl46Wrexham

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

July 2006 really. 31st August 2005 was the last proper mother of a storm that i saw.

[Coast]

1st July 2008 off Eastbourne at night:

 

https://forum.netweather.tv/gallery/image/10807-lightning-010708-the-channel-off-eastbourne/

https://forum.netweather.tv/gallery/image/10806-lightning-010708-the-channel-off-eastbourne/

[The watcher]

December 2010, thundersnow and pea sized hail mixed in. Dropped 4-6 inches of hail and was very localized.

[ChezWeather]

28th June 2012 i suppose could be classed as "heavy" however here in Chesterfield it was no organised storm, more just a mess.

 

So tbh the last proper thunderstorm here and certainly the last time we have seen lightning at night must be 2005/2006 

 

[jamesslater93]

The last storm I remember was 11th July 2012 but it only lasted 10 mins.

 

From recent memory only 28th June 2011 (plume event) stands out as a 'cracking' thunderstorm. I remember it being extremely hot and humid on the walks to and from college that day, I think I got back just before the heavens opened!

 

There may have been one around July 2009 but I can't remember it too well.

[Cheshire Freeze]

Next week with any luck. Actually, nahhhhhh, I never have any luck!

[Bishop Brennan]

I was lucky enough to experience "El Brummo" last summer, an extraordinary experience.

 

Bish

[Bobby]

I think most in Wales will remember the storms of early May 2011. One of best stormy periods I can remember. From MetO:

 

1st to 4th

The month got off to a dry start with warm, sunny spells across the north, although high cloud affected southern parts. There was also a strong easterly wind for a time on 1st and 2nd, with gales over the hills. However, the direction of the wind lead to some warm weather in the north-west, Porthmadog (Gwynedd) recording 21.2 Â°C on 1st.

5th to 13th

Much more unsettled conditions took over as a large, complex area of low pressure became slow-moving to the west or south-west of Ireland from 5th to 9th, then transferred north-eastwards. Areas of rain and showers moved in from the south and west at times, often heavy and thundery, especially up to 10th. On 9th, the showers turned very heavy with frequent lightning and hail reported. A further period of heavy, thundery rain moved across on 13th, clearing to showers behind. Some chilly nights, but temperatures were near normal by day.

 

We had a few days of good storms, the first late on the 5th I think with gave some good nighttime light shows with impressive fork lightning and rain. Then again on the 8th during the afternoon although not as impressive as the 5th.

 

Things really went insane on the 10th. We had several overhead storms throughout the day with CG lightning, torrential rain and hail. The last storm of the day I'll remember forever. A rumbling storm to the W moving N looked to be just missing us. However it seemed rapidly grow and develop to our S and soon was right over us.

 

I was sitting in the greenhouse casually enjoying the storm, heavy rain, lightning, thunder, great fun. The rain became heavier and heavier and eventually torrential with hail mixed in. The wind increased and the sound from the glass was deafening. The wind got stronger and the greenhouse started to shake. Was pretty scary so I dashed indoors to safety which turned out to be a wise move.

 

When I entered the house all hell broke loose. A cloudburst of rain and hail like I've never seen, it looked like a whiteout blizzard with visibility less than 100m. The wind was blowing the rain and hail horizontal. Leaves, twigs were flying past, the house was shaking and it felt like we were being hit by a tornado. Our heavy cast iron garden chairs and table were blown about 30ft across the garden into a fence like toys. A half filled wheely bin was blown about 20ft onto the lawn. Several pieces of glass from the greenhouse were torn out and thrown half way across the garden, I found one pane embedded about 5ft up a tree. Someone outside in that could have been decapitated. Pieces of decking were torn up and thrown across the garden also.

 

It lasted about 30 seconds at its peak and then just normal heavy rain and frequent fork lightning from the storm remained.

 

I initially thought it was tornado but now believe it was an intense down burst/micro burst. We often get gales of 60-70mph here in the winter but this wind was something else, my 82 year old grandma said she'd never seen anything like it either. The winds must have been at least 100mph from the damage it caused. A nearby lamp-post was bent over, probably hit with some flying debris. Several neighbours fences were down also.

 

Looked like this but maybe even worse

 

Edited July 17, 2013 by Bobby

[P-M]

June 2012 last year - massive storm over Tyne and Wear which caused massive floods and a couple of houses burned down due to lightning strikes, parts of roads washed away and land collapses - it literally went from day to night within a matter of minutes and near constant thunder and lightning.  Put it this way it was back to back news for a few days up here!

 

Here is the local news website with the story:

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-storm-dreaded-supercell-1367011

[Jax]

No I in recent years, cannot recall the last truly *cracking* storm here, it has been a few years, I think there may have been one or two in recent years, just not whilst I was in the locality.

[recklessabandon]

Last June and July in the North-east....take your pick.....June 28th was the famous, or should I say infamous 'supercell' storm...but there were plenty of others during last summer, frankly, I don't miss them anymore after last summer......

[P-M]

Last June and July in the North-east....take your pick.....June 28th was the famous, or should I say infamous 'supercell' storm...but there were plenty of others during last summer, frankly, I don't miss them anymore after last summer......

 

 

Yes mate we had a cracking year last year for storms in the NE (depending on your outlook of course) - the June one was spectacular - I was stranded just along from the Tyne Bridge in a deluge - the first time I have ever seen manhole covers explode with torrents of water at least 7ft in the air - was amazing but very very destructive.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Wishful-Thinking

[Stormyking]

 June this year, which alot of you may remember me reporting

[Jax]

And another post elsewhere are "triggered" a memory of a super storm here, day turned to night and hell was unleased, was I think in the early 90's

[MP-R]

I would have to say 12th August last year during the early hours, first a few hours of just lightning and thunder to the south and west, then overhead until 8am.

 

Before that, probably 25th June 2009, 28th July 2008 and 09th May 2008.

[recklessabandon]

Yes mate we had a cracking year last year for storms in the NE (depending on your outlook of course) - the June one was spectacular - I was stranded just along from the Tyne Bridge in a deluge - the first time I have ever seen manhole covers explode with torrents of water at least 7ft in the air - was amazing but very very destructive.

I remember being sat in my office in Durham next to the viaduct thinking how odd it was that the trains were all stacking up at Durham station.......then the birds stopped singing.......then the sky went black like night.......the rest is history.....

[TheToastPeople]

In the UK? Probably 6-8 years ago when i was a kid, there was so much lightning it scared me and my family from the top floor of our house in bedfordshire, But nothing has come close since.

The last cracking thunderstorm i saw was on the Wild coast of South africa back in 2011, Huge thunderstorm which started just after nightfall over the transkei mountains and stormed towards me at the coast, It carried on well into the early hours of the morning with near constant lightning before it dissipated out to sea. Strange thing was there was practically no rain but lots of hail and wind.

Here is a picture i took of it approaching before the lightning scared me down from the hill top lol!

Edited July 18, 2013 by TheToastPeople

[IanR]

last year in august, as a multicell moved overhead whilst at work in St Helens and produced loads of lightning as it moved toward Manchester , watched lightning for a good hour and lost count of the cg's

 

edit...forgot to say, this storm back built and produced another smaller but very electrically  active  cell on its south west side, but I had to drive back to wigan, it was still throwing out forked lightning as i was driving down the east lancs road

Edited July 18, 2013 by IanR

[snow1975]

Reading, on the evening of the 2nd/3rd? July 1999. Electrical storm dumped 2 inches of rain in an hour on the Reading Uni field site. It was a very warm evening after a hot day. The storm's originated over the Cornish peninsula.

Edited July 18, 2013 by snow1975