The Great Meteorological Thread

Where's my bloody rain!!!!

Poxy met office messing up my weeks work.

Looked at the forecast last night which showed rain for most of the day down here so put off all my outside work.

Get up this morning to the same hazy blue sky and oppressive heat I have had all last week and now I will get them all moaning about me not being there! :bang:

Rant over!:D


Heather
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
Nice (y)
We were really unlucky last night (I'm in Oxford at the mo). the lightning tracker showed the storm heading straight for us, but just before it got in visual range, it split with the main storm bypassing to the North and one to the South that fizzled out.
So I missed out :(

Checking the lightning tracker - right now there's lots of activity!
It's mainly Cheshire plus a smattering in East Anglia - but it's definitely not over...

In case you don't already have the link. Here's my preferred lightning tracker.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/...&fcTime=1374512400&zoom=7&lon=-1.71&lat=52.44
Positives are that it has very good coverage and can also be flipped into rainfall radar.
Negatives are that it not real-time.
Click to expand...

Thanks, not seen that link before.
 
Finally, last night I had a proper storm - the first time since July 2009 and it wasn't a silly little one but a full on humdinger which involved gusty winds first, then the hail and the heavy rain and of course the continuous strobe-like sheet and forked lightning.
The storm, at it's peak at 2.30 am, was that lively that the power winked out for a second while at the same time kept causing the garden solar lights to keep coming back on, so I've had to reset all the digital clocks around the house (alarm clocks, the heater, video, etc). It also had me checking my roof and the inside of it for water damage - and thankfully, it's all bone dry. Lord, my house is built like a castle.
It is going to be a long time before I moan about the South East Kent climate. My only regret was having missed this storm's approach as I was still asleep. it wasn't until rain water and hail blowing through an open window and splashing onto my legs did I wake up and that's when I was seeing next door's plastic garden furniture being blown about in what I'm sure was a gustnado type wind.
By the time it was in full chat, I just couldn't get out with the camera to get to a more interesting photogenic location due to the rain. Besides my poor elderly mother was having a million heart attacks per second as the house literally shock with the explosions of thunder along with the strobe lightning.
My rain gauge is reading 18.6 mm having fallen but I'm sure MUCH more has fallen as it has caused localised flooding around the town.

I think for the first time in years, I can easily class this to have been a proper "violent" storm. Now I can rest easy knowing my thirst for storms has been quenched. Any more we do get from here on is considered to be a bonus, even though I was ready to write it off last night (hence how it took me by surprise) and expecting this evening to offer a better chance.

I was only able to get this photo hand held through the safety of the bathroom window as the rain just made it too difficult and dangerous to venture outdoors to a better and more interesting location. But what this does show was how three separate strikes occurred in the 15 seconds-long exposure anyway. That's how violent the storm was.

971368_10151479855981160_434771082_n.jpg
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
That's a belter of a shot - I'd love to have a go at capturing something like that.
My previous attempts have not been particularly successful - care to share some tips?
Click to expand...

:) Cheers Duncan, however I can't really call this the money shot because of the boring location.

But, in terms of bagging that decent looking night time lightning photograph, if I was able to get out to a better location then what I would have done is set the camera on a tripod, put the timer on then set the exposure for around 20 seconds and at F11, along with low ISOs (100 or 200). Finally, the focus is set to manual where the ring is turned right round to infinity and very slightly turned back lightly (as most cameras struggle to get an auto focus lock on in the dark). As for the WB, I just leave that on Auto, although I think the tungsten street lamps has the effect of making the lightning turn out blue but I like that anyway.
Then it's a question of hoping for the best as the lightning occurs not just at the right time but in the right place as the camera is at work taking that long exposure.
 
Oh by the way, as far as the storm risk for today and tonight is concerned. The potential/risk'll still be there over the Eastern side of the UK but all it'll mean is that there is the chance of more storms popping up.
The Western side of the country should stay dry but rather cloudy. That is because of a cold front moving in from the Atlantic making it cooler and fresher and that cold front is expected to move eastwards across the country as we go into tomorrow morning thus removing the storm risk over the whole of the UK for once and for all.
But over here I can almost hear the lawn sighing in relief as the dry run (no pun intended) since the 3rd of April has come to an abrupt end.
 
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I thought I was in luck this morning and could get away with no sunscreen (I'm of Celtic colouring - dark hair but reddish beard so burn all too easily) and be non-sticky for a day but shortly before we were due to go out (I suppose luckier than just after we had left!) the Sun broke through its cloud cover and I had to slap on a coat of P20 SPF30 spray so I'm all sticky again. No rain here yet, although we were in 2 minds about whether to drop the head to go to town and it did feel like rain until lunchtime.
 
Have issued a weather warning:

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CLOUD MASTER WARNING for HEAVY RAIN/EMBEDDED THUNDER/LIGHTNING.

Applicable for between 12 pm SATURDAY MIDDAY until 12 am MIDNIGHT.

Areas most likely to be affected will be Central Southern England, London, the South East and East Anglia.

The area marked in red (Hampshire through to London and into Essex) is where the heaviest and disruptive rain is expected to fall - up to 60 mm in places hence the risk of flooding.

The area marked in blue (Sussex and Kent) will still see to heavy rain, 20 mm to 30 mm, enough to cause standing water on roads. There'll also be embedded thunder and lightning.

All that should clear away from the above mentioned affected area by the early hours of Sunday morning leading to a better day on Sunday with the sunshine trying to break through once again.
 
Looks like I'll have a nice light show when I'm camping tomorrow at Goodwood :Lol:
 
So will it be thunder we hear or you snoring :p
 
Holy crap :eek:
I have a thick blue line running through my house :D

Cracking shot Ian, and thanks for the "heads up" (y)
 
Just watching the lightning maps - and although this mornings storms stayed over the other side of the channel - there seems to be a real biggie approaching the White Cliffs at the moment.

Ian gave us plenty of warning.
I'm expecting some decent piccies :)
 
It started "spitting" around 5:30 on and off for an hour,
now we have plenty of rain and its black as night, here.
But just a hint of thunder way off in the distance
 
It started off very hot humid and sunny, then a downpour


bh5 by Ingrid Nicholls, on Flickr

then the sun came out again but still very humid.

Arrived home in torrential rain and thunder.

Oh well back up there again tomorrow, wonder what that will bring
 
Evenin' all. Indeed, I did get to have some lighting and thunder along with torrential rain at about 6 pm this evening but it only lasted for about an hour and it was quite slow and lumbering in nature (a forked lightning every five minutes), it wasn't really as impressive as the one I had on Tuesday morning.
Nonetheless, it gave me a useful 9.9 mm of rain, all helping to bring the colour back to my parched-looking lawn.
 
michael23 said:
An interesting start to the day and a close shave! lightning struck something in the garden and knocked power out. Sounded and looked like a firework going off!
Click to expand...

Not good hope all is well ? same happened to us a couple months back lightning took down part of a tree and knocked power out and fried our router as it was not connected to a surge protector.
 
Didn't see any lightning yesterday but did hear a long and loud peal of thunder so there was a storm about! Enough drizzle to refill the water butts but not enough to revitalize the lawns.
 
Well I'm guessing winter is on the way :(
Dull and drizzly most of today, its not even 9pm yet and its getting dark out there!

It was a nice couple of weeks, while it lasted.
 
Really really hot here, struggled at work this morning and now doing noting, just about to jump in 2nd cold shower, wind has got up now though and that is helping a bit (y)
 
Well, what a change!

Yesterday saw torrential rain here - I could have surfed down the road at one point (if I could surf) and a minute out in it (couldn't be avoided) saw me soaked to the skin. This morning, there's barely a cloud in the sky. Bloody rain's made the lawn grow too!
 
Nod said:
Well, what a change!
Yesterday saw torrential rain here -!
Click to expand...
And on the outskirts of Manchester too, yesterday!

DuncanDisorderly said:
It felt a bit Autumnal this morning with a heavy dew, windless and crisp air.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what the over night temps were (Up in Manchester)
But I certainly agree with the "Autumnal feel" start to the day.
 
And over here at Kentfordshire, it turned out to be a really lovely day today with unbroken sunshine all day. Even though temperatures barely scraped 20 C, it felt very warm in the sun, at least more than decent enough to sit in the garden to top up the tan.
A pity tomorrow isn't going to be as inspiring for around here with more in the way of cloud cover and even some drizzle, along with a brisk NE wind causing temperatures to struggle a bit at around 17 C.
I reckon the rest of August will go along on an uneventful and quiet note with alternating spells of cloudy and damp conditions and brighter and drier spells (non of the silly heat but at least it won't be a washout).
 
Just wondered what temperature people would prefer for a summer's day.

For me anything up to 22C or 23C is fine. Any higher than I start to feel too hot. 28C is uncomfortable and 30C is horrible.

Dave
 
Tringa said:
Just wondered what temperature people would prefer for a summer's day.

For me anything up to 22C or 23C is fine. Any higher than I start to feel too hot. 28C is uncomfortable and 30C is horrible.

Dave
Click to expand...

For me 30 with low humidity is perfect.
 
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