Thanks for posting that info Jane. While I garner reports from a whole host of sources and locations I really do appreciate any and all input here as well. The lightning display in Swindon makes sense, especially if it was Wednesday night.

Such are the vagaries of the weather that the sytem which was due to dump another batch of thunderstorms ( and possible deluges ) on London and The South East on Wednesday night, instead took a detour of a mere 50-100 miles north, more or less missing our region altogether. From there it formed an east/west train, then arced south into the west country....ie: Wiltshire, Somerset, Bristol area etc. Some parts of East Anglia were particularly hard hit rain-wise, and flooding was quite widespread for a time.

I have every sympathy for the professional forecasters, even more-so in situations like that because even though I was following some live radar feeds at the time ( yes, yes I know. How sad is that.......lol. Its a long story ), nature had the last laugh as always. I wouldn't want it any other way to be honest.

Looking ahead now the Bank Holiday Weekend is almost upon us:

It currently looks as though temperatures in our region will be below average for most if not all of it. On Thursday Northolt recorded a pretty poor maximum of just 9c ( 48f ). A slight overnight frost is definately possible in rural areas, and while rainfall amounts are still uncertain at this time, Bank Holiday Monday looks like being the most likely day to make use of your umbrellas.

Next week could well be a case of rinse and repeat here in The South East with low pressure never too far away from us, threatening to deliver yet more rain, and still on the chilly side for May. Is there any end in sight ???.........Well a slight glimmer of hope towards the end of next week perhaps, but personally I won't be airing my shorts and tee-shirts for a while yet.

Thanks again to everyone for reading and posting, and whatever the weather, I wish you all a pleasant Bank Holiday Weekend.

Moley

If rain now avoids standpipes next year then I'm all for it.

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Lets be careful out there !

I can't disagree with that Kremm. Latest information available seems to suggest that Bank Holiday Monday may not be a complete washout after all, at least here in London and The South East. The rain belt will approach from the west, and if we are lucky, may hold off from reaching our region until the evening.

Not exactly weather related, but anyone interested in watching the skies might be interested to know that should this grey muck finally clear from above our heads this evening would offer a great opportunity to see the phenonemon known as a Perigee Moon as it rises above the horizon. I think that will be about 8.30pm but will try and check that. The spectacle will be all the better for it being a Full Moon, and although not rare, its a sight worth seeing.

Here's a video to get you started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOplwuMTyS4

Thanks as always, have a good weekend. Moley

Sounds interesting, will have a look.

Unfortunately Pam the weather Gods seem to be against us. Its overcast here

Still some interesting skies about this evening though.

Moley ( The Very Happy Chelsea Fan )

Too much cloud here - didnt see anything But like you Moley - the excellent Chelsea result prevents me from being too upset tonight

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I do not suffer fools !!!!!

Next stop Munich !!

BBC forecast for Saturday night was -1 or -2 and a frost.

Woke up this morning to 6°C and no frost = fail

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Lets be careful out there !

Yep ...... we'll let you off of weather duties on May 19th

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I do not suffer fools !!!!!

Well I have to admit just about every computer model, chart and expert forecaster ( and me ) was caught out by this one Kremm. Everything pointed to a frost in London and The South East on Saturday and Sunday night. In reality it never came further south than about Yorkshire. The minimum at Northolt on Saturday was 5.3c, and on Sunday 1.5c. Similarly with Bank Holiday Mondays rainfall, that reached our region earlier than expected ( more on that later ).

Looking ahead for the rest of this week there is yet another atmospheric battle taking place over the UK as warm air over the near continent fights it out with cold air to the north. From today ( Tuesday ) the warm(er) air looks set to make slight inroads into the South so temperatures may nudge into the low/mid teens.... 16-19c ( 61-66f ) for a couple of days. The downside is that another Low Pressure system seems to be heading our way and the Met Office have already issued a warning of heavy rain for London and The South East from midnight Wednesday into Thursday. Again a lot depends on the exact track of the low, currently southern coastal counties are in the firing line for the worst of it. All subject to change of course.

Further ahead there is a reasonable chance that we may see a very brief respite from the downpours at the weekend. Whilst not particularly warm by then, rumour has it that big fiery ball in the sky ( anyone remember it ? ) may put in an appearance just at the right time for once.

Now. Back to Bank Holiday Mondays weather. Some of you may have read/seen/heard the reports of some dramatic weather just to our north, with an area in Oxfordshire bearing the brunt. The experts seem pretty much agreed now that what took place there was a weather feature called a 'supercell thunderstorm'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercell

These are fairly rare beasts in the UK ( and I don't use the word 'beast' lightly in relation to these conditions ), so depending on your point of view, if you were under it, or in its path, you could consider yourself either extremely lucky or unlucky. There are some very good accounts of this supercell on the t'internet, not to mention some stunning photo's and several videos on You Tube. I will try and post some links later but in the meantime anyone interested could do a search on You Tube under 'Witney hailstorm' and similar. Here is another useful link courtesy of UKASF with more information:

http://ukasf.co.uk/storm-forecasts/166

This storm had the lot it seems. Torrential rain, large hail, thunder, lightning, rotation, scud, funnel clouds and YES.......at least one tornado**, though I suspect there were more...... A storm chasers dream in fact, somewhat ironic given that there are already several groups of UK storm chasers currently out in the USA on the lookout for this exact kind of weather.

Now given the death and destruction such storm systems can and often do cause in the USA I realise the above may sound somewhat crass, so I would like to make one thing clear. The UK groups that I know of are organised and led by professionals, people with meteorological qualifications and a wealth of knowledge and experience. Their knowledge and experiences are passed on to official US agencies, and have led to a better understanding of devastating storms, how and why they occur, and where they are most likely to. They have also been directly involved in a number of rescue operations. The first rule is safety and protection of people and property, you are not even considered for one of these groups unless you agree to that.

Well, on that rather sombre note, I think I will sign off for now and thank you all as always for reading and posting.

Moley

** A very loose definition of :

Scud : A ragged lowering from a cloud base with no real shape, and no rotation.

Funnel Cloud : A more defined shape, and rotation/swirling movement noticeable, especially if nearby. They often show a rope like appearance.

Tornado : In simple terms a Funnel Cloud which 'touches down' ........ie: the funnel reaches the land surface. ( Waterspout if it reaches a body of water ).