Well, I had planned a ride for this evening, but shortly before leaving a storm blew up.
We have had here in Manchester, a few days of “much too hot”, and today, an hour ago, it ended suddenly. This was not just one of the low key storms seen often in the UK. This one was truly excellent. Much like some of those we had back home in Asia. By far the best lightning storm I have seen in the UK. The house lights are still flickering and the computer has now locked up twice, requiring a switch off/on, all caused by the storm.
Lashings of rain, lots of deep heavy rolling thunder, and brilliant lightning flashes every 3 or 4 seconds. A few of them were very sharp cracks, of magnificent volume, suggesting that the source of that noise was directly overhead. There are some young girls in the bus shelter near the house, who are screaming in terror with every flash and bang.
So I scrapped the ride and sat on the doorstep instead, really enjoying the spectacle. Anyone else enjoy storms in this way? I have a friend who locks herself in the cupboard under the stairs, abso0lutely terrified.
So good I didn’t miss doing the ride.
It was very hot and muggy down here in Swansea today. I went out for a ride this morning and I could taste a ‘tinny’ flavour in the air, like you get just before a big storm. It must have just skirted us though because it cleared up an hour or two later, and it’s been blazing sunshine all day.
I love storms. We had a massive electrical one a couple of years back. No rain, just thunder and lighting every five seconds. Incredible stuff. Better than any firework show.
Thunderstorms are awesome. It’s getting around to the monsoon season over here, so it gets cloudy and rainy at the end of everyday. We haven’t had a big storm yet, but we get some pretty nice ones around here. One minute it’s bright and sunny out, then a little while later there is a river running through the yard. It’s cool.
Here in New Jersey we have been having some very intense thunderstorms with the most brilliant lightning I can remember seeing in quite a while. A couple of nights before the LBI Unithon back in early June we had the most amazing lightning I have ever seen.
I love storms, and like even better when a gale blows with snow and ice !
I just feel exhilaration … as long as I am undercover from rain and lightning (or so I think). I do not mind being in the open when there is strong wind and snow (probably my ancestors were mamoth hunters ).
Once the rain had eased, I wandered off to the local “open all hours” shop. Some of the roads I crossed, ones with a slight slope, had become rivers, up to a foot deep in parts. The sleeping policemen ( I refuse to be PC and call them traffic calming measures ) were acting like weirs. One kid actually had a small canoe on the road, but he was struggling a little with the depth and his paddles though. Another lady had had one of her flower beds swept away, and was non too pleased. Floods everywhere, over Cheshire and Lancashire. The rain made the national news, and Rochdale in Lancashire, about 15 miles away, had even more rain than we had. Today is back to still, clear and very hot. What a shame.
Leaves and small branches have been knocked off some trees by the rain. There was little or no wind at the time, leaving the rain with the blame, and so the roads are looking a little untidy today, they have debris tidemarks, with assorted flotsam and jetsam.
I love thunderstorms too. Two weeks ago we had planed a uni ride on saturday morning for the juggling convention.
we rode under lightnings and rain… great!
).