Terrifying thunderstorm in Jersey

[Met.]

When I was just a 10 year old lad, I went camping with my family on Jersey in August 1997.

On our first night, a terrifying thunderstorm struck at about 1-2AM. Loads of CG lightning and intense thunder and somebody was burned in a nearby tent. Everyone was crapping themselves in fear and it was a scary event for young children (my little sister nearly died from fright). 

I cant find much about this, so I wondered if anyone on here has any information or memories about it? It sounds a bit like a plume type storm from France most likely.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Thundershine
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[Weather-history]

49 minutes ago, Thundershine said:

When I was just a 10 year old lad, I went camping with my family on Jersey in August 1997.

On our first night, a terrifying thunderstorm struck at about 1-2AM. Loads of CG lightning and intense thunder and somebody was burned in a nearby tent. Everyone was crapping themselves in fear and it was a scary event for young children (my little sister nearly died from fright). 

I cant find much about this, so I wondered if anyone on here has any information or memories about it? It sounds a bit like a plume type storm from France most likely.

Do you know the exact date? Could have been early in the month. 

BBC forecasts from August 1997, 

 

[Methuselah]

The first really scary storm I can recall was back in the summer of 1959: torrential rain and hail, T&L and daylight darkness -- it scared me sheetless. But I was only two-and-a-half at the time!

[Azazel]

8 minutes ago, Ed Stone said:

The first really scary storm I can recall was back in the summer of 1959: torrential rain and hail, T&L and daylight darkness -- it scared me sheetless. But I was only two-and-a-half at the time!

Ahhh daytime darkness. I’ve only seen it once and I suspect I will never see it again:(

[Met.]

1 hour ago, Weather-history said:

Do you know the exact date? Could have been early in the month. 

BBC forecasts from August 1997, 

 

I am sure it was in the first half of August, but that's about it. The days afterwards were very hot and sunny, I recall too. 

[Nath]

As a young teenage boy in the early 1980s (cant remember the exact year) I remember a night storm that was like no other I have seen.  Lightning flashing every second, constant thunder including explosion like thunder at times, torrential rain for 2 hours that flooded the downstairs flat and many other places in Kilburn.  I was absolutely terrified, even my parents seemed worried at one point!!

[hillbilly]

On 25/06/2019 at 19:09, Weather-history said:

Do you know the exact date? Could have been early in the month. 

BBC forecasts from August 1997, 

 

Weather-history,you have a forcast of 10 th August that month showing the storm activity from a previous posting,i cannot share it and cannot find it on youtube but looks just like what Thundershine is looking for.A bit different here in the pennines as we had little of this excitement,just lots of hot sunny weather.

[Weather-history]

27 minutes ago, hillbilly said:

Weather-history,you have a forcast of 10 th August that month showing the storm activity from a previous posting,i cannot share it and cannot find it on youtube but looks just like what Thundershine is looking for.A bit different here in the pennines as we had little of this excitement,just lots of hot sunny weather.

 

[philglossop]

Two come to mind!

 

10th July 1995. It started in Plymouth about 11pm and literally didn’t stop all night. Never known such booming thunder and vivid lightning. It’s still the storm of my life that one. I worked at BT back then and it was the day of living dead on 11th, with no Plymouthians having got much of any sleep. The lightning storm of May 2017 was close but only lasted a couple of hours compared to the 1995 was a little kid! 

 

In term of daytime storm, the cell from 2nd July 2006 was epic. I was in a caravan with my ex and two dogs in West Yorkshire near the Rochdale area. It went from a beautiful warm summers day to near darkness by about 530pm. The rain was amazing but we didn’t such lightning as we were in themiddle of a forest ( good idea!). That’s the closest I’ve been to darkness in daytime ( apart from the eclipse of 1999). The radar for that storm remains epic to this day!