I tend to agree with you re this summer so far Jon, but I won't take the blame when the weather turns bad so it's only fair I don't take the credit when it's good.

I tried to post a video of the spectacular Supercell thunderstorm which landed a direct hit on Hastings and surrounds on the evening of Friday July 18th. It was one of several videos I took that evening, along with the even bigger storm that hit the same location in the early hours of Saturday July 19th.

As most of you will know I'm not too good with computers so the posting failed. I'm wondering if I should try and post the videos on YouTube then add the links here ? Any advice gratefully received.

Moley

That's a fair comment Jan and to be honest as someone who used to love the sun and summer heat I really do struggle with it now. Asthma has become a real problem for me this summer.

I'm just having a quick look back at the reports for July 2014 and the records show the heat really kicked in from the 10th of the month. Whilst no records were broken, the maximum temperature reached or exceeded 25c ( 77F ) somewhere in the UK ( mostly in our region ) every day from the 10th to the 31st of the month. That is quite some spell of warm weather.

The thunderstorms which occasionally affected our region during that time are also worth mentioning for the sheer ferocity of them. In all my years of watching storms in the UK and elsewhere, I don't think I have ever witnessed anything on the scale of what happened on the evening of July 18th and the early hours of July 19th.

Moley

Hi Moley,

Yes it has been rather a sustained period of heat which I am glad to see the back of. Just wondering what Bertha is going to come up with over the weekend and into next week.

Hopefully this is a link to the video I took as the storm of July 18th 2014 approached Hastings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOB55UjYkRw

And another video as the storm was overhead


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWUi_UB ... e=youtu.be

Hi Moley, great videos, a storm that will live long in the memory across Sussex and Kent.

bjay

Welcome aboard and thanks for posting Bj. The storms that evening and night were about the best I have ever seen in the UK. The Supercell crossing the English Channel and hitting Hastings full on was about as good as it gets.

Apparently the 'usual suspects ' in the national press have been mentioning Hurricane Bertha and how it might affect the UK in a few days time. The headlines were speculative to say the least.

For the record Bertha was the lowest category ( 1 ) of a hurricane and has all but fizzled out several thousand miles to our west and the National Hurricane Centre in the Usa which monitor and track these storms closely have just about written it off.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

That said, it still has the potential to deliver some unsettled weather to the Uk in the form of a low pressure system with the accompanying rain and strong winds for a time. The track and timing is still impossible to predict this far out, and it may miss us altogether as it heads further south ( or north ).

Sunday and Monday are the days to look out for. Until then the rest of this week looks likely to see above average temperatures in our region.

Moley

Thanks

I noted on the travel news yesterday morning (Wednesday) that a few lanes were closed on the M25 at J13 due to flooding. That's another near miss, like Ruislip.

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Lets be careful out there !

If you are doing that journey tomorrow Kremmen I see the Met Office have recently sneaked in a Severe weather warning (thunderstorms and heavy rain) for London and the South East on Friday. That one caught me a bit by surprise to be honest and they are suggesting the possibility of 50mm's ( 2" ) of rain for some.

I only saw it because I was looking for the latest news on the possible Atlantic Low heading our way towards the end of the weekend. The Met Office have now issued a Severe weather warning for that as well, with the proviso that there is a high degree of uncertainty at this time. It has the potential to be quite nasty though.

Warnings here : http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weat ... &lat=55.50

More updates will follow as and when things become clearer. Thanks as always for posting and reading.
Moley

Nope WFH tomorrow (Friday)

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Lets be careful out there !