UKC

Did anyone else see the lightning over north-east Manchester this evening? There was a huge cloud near Mossley that had constant lightning in it for a good 30 minutes between 22:45 and 23:15 (although it could of been going before this and when I left, it was still going). Looked like the centre would have been around Greenfield/Delph area. Absolutely amazing to watch but the strangest thing was there was no thunder. Hopefully I've taken an OK photo or 2.

In reply to ben.phillips:
Yeah we watched it from Matlock after greasing our way up a hvs crack that was wetter than the river at willersley castle rocks!it was very impressive,forced ourselves to stop watching after about 40 mins to drive back to Coventry!

It was very impressive to watch but as you say it was very strange with no thunder claps!

In reply to ben.phillips:

We sat out watching a couple of storms approach the Skipton area from Burnley way from about 2200 onwards. This did have thunder rumbling away.

Always fascinating to watch if you aren't at risk from strike.

In reply to ben.phillips:

I watched it in the distance from Chesterfield, a truly amazing and remarkable sight. Must have been a lightning strike every 3 or 4 seconds but no sound. Also a weird purple tinge to it all. Never seen anything like it before, even in the Alps.

In reply to ben.phillips:

Best storms I've ever seen were on two occasions from aircraft at altitude - once flying from Lahore to Dhaka and once from Johannesburg back to Europe; probably 100 miles away I could see a long row of thunderclouds towering almost to the same height and all flashing away simultaneously, lit up from within like a line of Chinese lanterns. Spectacular and unusual.

In reply to ben.phillips:
Storms like that are absolutely insane. I was camped once on one side of Lago Maggiore, north Italy, and we had clear, starry skies on our side of the lake, but a little way inland on the other side was being pounded by the most ridiculous storm you could imagine. Five flashes a second, all the way up and down the towering cloud, all night long, for hours and hours. It looked like something biblical, cataclysmic, apocalyptic.

We were pitched right next to the toilet block and five boisterous African-Italian ladies were holed up in it (for the only electric lights that were still on, presumably), drinking wine and practicing their screeching. I'm glad they were, otherwise I'd have missed the light show. Thank you, loud women. Thank you.

In reply to ben.phillips:

yes, I was leaving Hobson Moor exactly as it started, to drive over Snake Pass. It felt like the epicentre was just over me, and a very eerie experience it was too.

In reply to ben.phillips:
It passed right over us around 11 last night. Continuous lightning within the clouds, sometimes you could see the actual lightning bolts but mostly the entire sky was light up with an eerie purple colour. Then the rain started, then hail around 1cm across. The noise on the windows was quite alarming. It was like tropical storms I remember in west Africa.

I often think keighley feels like the end of the world, it felt particularly convincing last night...

It certainly made up for having to abandon my attempts at bouldering at white crag a couple of hours earlier as it was so humid that the hordes of midges were drowning in the sweat that was pouring down my arms... Not ideal grit weather!

In reply to ben.phillips:

Could see it from leek,couldn't hear anything but there must have been thunder somewhere.

In reply to ben.phillips:

Yes almost constant for 30 minutes or so in Rochdale, we had thunder as well, which was indication it was very close.

In reply to ben.phillips:

I went for a cycle up to Alderley Edge, stopped for a quick pint in Styal, and watched the storm approach from the distance. Little flickers of light in the sky from miles away, and within an hour it was right above us.

Awesome.

Then it started belting down with warm rain.

In reply to ThunderCat:

Somewhere on the outskirts of Glasgow there was a lightening storm too. I woke up and wnet to take a leak. On entering the darkened bathroom, a series of flashes went off, as it there were paparazzi waiting for me in there. Then, a good 10+ seconds later, I heard faint thunder.

Moving to the living room to look out (second floor flat), more distant flashes could be made out but the storm was moving away and even the dog, normally terrified of bangs & flashes, didn't bother moving (normally, he would come to our bedroom door and try to push it open to get it and seek master protection: this I find very endearing)

Thread: This is all very disappointing. There was absolutely nothing east of Manchester except a horribly hot, humid, and dull evening.

In reply to MG:

It was awesome in eastern Edinburgh this early am! Huge vertical bolts of lightning,and thunderclaps, so loud overhead, twas like being in the alps!

In reply to MG:


Given that most of the contributors to the thread appear to be commenting from location east and north-east of Manchester, there was almost certainly something east of Manchester.

In reply to The New NickB:

?? You think I just didn't notice?

In reply to MG:
I don't know, but the evidence suggests your statement is factually incorrect!

Do you think the rest of us are having visions?

In reply to The New NickB:

No, you are probably right and I completely missed a huge thunderstorm. Happens regularly. Coincidentally the Met Office weather station had developed an error too and didn't record anything of note
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/observation/gcw858zgz

In reply to ben.phillips:

I had a great view from my hill top home in Sheffield. Too far away to hear thunder but there was a flash every couple of seconds and I watched it move from Manchester to somewhere in North Yorkshire.

In reply to MG:

Well Rostherne is 19 miles from Glossop and in the East Midlands, the OP is in Mossley, less than 10 miles from Glossop and east of Manchester.

I'm north-east of Manchester and the lightening was just to the south of me, I'm going to go with there being a lightening storm east of Manchester.

Was there a lightening storm in Glossop, I'll defer to you on that, equally I defer the the Met Office for observations in the East Midlands.

In reply to ben.phillips:

light snow over manchester - you got my attention

In reply to ben.phillips:

Tom Hodgson caught this and put it on his fb page. looking over Win hill apparently.

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/11403497_9064556...

In reply to winhill:

looking over Win hill apparently.

You did that!?

In reply to ben.phillips:

Possibly more tomorrow night. Just wet here at the moment.

In reply to ben.phillips:
We saw the cracking lightening cloud west of us (nr Matlock) at 10 pm when we walked to dogs. Weird to see so much lightening with no sound.

In reply to all:

It was quite good over SW MancM21 as well
Hammered down for about an half an hour.