I can confirm reports above, that Brighton seems to be getting all the rain that other parts of the country are missing. Still, good for all the veg growing on my chum’s allotment just down the road.
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In (not so) sunny Hertfordshire early yesterday evening, we experienced the most intense short storm I’ve ever seen in this country. Thankfully it only lasted a few minutes, but the deluge overwhelmed the roof guttering and the road gullies very quickly. The sound of the rainfall was immense underlined by constant thunderclaps. Watching the mayhem at the rear of the house illuminated by the constant lightning, an incredibly powerful vertical wind lashing the trees around, seemed intent on driving the leaves off every tree straight into the ground.
Then there was darkness. Power gone. Thankfully I’d unplugged the system when I heard the thunder approaching. Fortunately, UK Power Networks were on the scene within 20 minutes and had restored the power within 80 minutes.
This morning I took a look at the carnage and saw the reason for the outage. The storm brought a large tree in the nature reserve down across the 11kV overhead cables, which snapped the pole like a twig.
The only other time I have seen such a severe storm was in the early 1990s in Dallas, and that particular storm generated a number of tornadoes. Never thought I’d see it’s like in this country.
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Wow
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It is probably remarkably unwise on my part, but there’s nothing that I like more in those weather conditions than to go upstairs to listen to music while watching the rain thrash down. I don’t recall ever unplugging or turning off the equipment.
Even more magical to sit listening to music in a snowstorm.
I’ve probably tempted fate too far now, and my house will be destroyed by lightning before the month is out!
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A bit more intense than I think we had yesterday but we had most of that. Some years ago we had one that reputedly gusted at up to 100mph, and I recall the narrow road to our house was a river of stones, tree debris and torrents of rain water. I couldn’t get to my home or worse still my children, young at the time, as there was a fallen tree between me and the car they were in, so I circled around the long way only to find another tree had fallen right BEHIND their car, so they were blocked in and at risk. I was glad of my Jeep that night because in addition to its robustness it was cheap, old (reliable though) and ultimately expendable. We got the kids to climb out of the car and through the tree which was sawn up shortly afterwards by the local tree surgeon. Amazingly neither tree took the power out. So, we do get those events, but not as often as the US.
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Out here in the Fens of North Cambridgeshire, there is nothing for miles to deflect the wind.
Some of the storms we have out here go beyond INTENSE!
We put up a weather station this year and already have been battered by winds over 70MPH and the bad weather hasn’t really even started yet😬
It was awesome to witness, though more than a little scary.
I would love to know what the wind speed of the downdraft (wind-shear?) measured. Anything that can make a nature reserve full of 50-60 feet tall Alders and Willows appear to ‘bounce’ like Zebedee (the Magic Roundabout one, not the biblical one) must have been something special.
@graham55 - my local electrical substation is (or was 
) fed from the overhead line which is routed through trees. I’ve found it’s prudent to unplug at the slightest sign of windy/wet weather. I get more power cuts each year here, than I remember in 30 years at my previous house (apart from during the 70’s strikes). This is the 2nd outage from this OHL in the last month.
@CalamityJack - now that must have been truly terrifying. Glad you got them out. Sounds a bit like a scene from “Twister”.
And I see the Beeb is reporting a tornado at Marwell near Winchester.
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No rain today - in fact, lots of sunshine.
The temperature is quite incredible given the time of the year. 20c here in Exeter this afternoon.
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Yes, it is weird. We stocked up on logs for the log burner through the summer. It has not been lit once yet.
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Ours have only been on a couple of times so far which is far from normal.
I’m actually wondering if our behaviour is being affected by cost of living etc - it’s not exactly cold currently but I suspect we might have had temp a couple of degrees higher in previous years.
18-19 degrees here in Cambridgeshire.
Just picked the car up after having its brakes rebuilt and enjoyed a fabulous 1hr 15min journey home with the roof down😊
After some early morning rain, it’s such a mild day again, Sunny and 20’C here.
Bonkers for late October !
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brilliant sunshine and 18/19 degrees, three days until November …
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Every day during October that we haven’t turned on the gas central heating I have ceremonially raised a central finger in an easterly direction expressing my disdain for one particular person (that’s every day so far except one where we had it on for an hour as much as anything to check it still worked having not been used since May). So that’s a lot of disdain and its a stronger disincentive to turning on the heating than the cost of the gas actually.
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Whilst I heartily approve of your principles, I’m not entirely sure disdain - even in large quantities - will have a large effect on that person.
(Assuming we’re thinking of the same person. You could be talking about the dastardly gas policies of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, for all I know)
Mark
Makes me feel better though. And I bet I’m not the only person.
And it’s a bit further east I’m meaning, but I don’t want to be political about this.
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Smashed it down last night in Surrey. If only had this in the summer as my lawn is still a mess!
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Resolutely not putting the heating on, not for cost reasons, as you say, but the weather has been mild as well as wet. We are working at home, wrapped up in extra layers!