Severe Thunderstorm July 25th/26th 1985

Big Tone · 27-07-2009 3:25pm

Sea Devils wrote: »

I'd put 2006 on your list as well. That was another scorcher iirc

You forgot 1990 was also good and better than 1984.

Summer of '85 was crap here and didn't improve til end of august/start of september.

stylers · 30-07-2009 12:52am

just stumbled on this thread - cool - I was just a "chiseller" back then but I remember those storms of 1985 and one in 1986 very vividly - I remember the 'oul fella always blamed it for stopping his (brand spankin' new) digital watch at the time - it was left on a window cill outside and was totally dead when he found it the next day. I remember the very eerie colour of the sky and the very heavy day. I can still remember seeing ribbon lightning and some sort of weird almost invisible discharges. I think we may have even seen ball lightning. It went on all night. wall to wall lightning.
Needless to say it all made me a bit of a lightning fan - any 'oul rumble and I leg it outside to watch..

road_high · 06-01-2010 9:14pm

Bump

Check out kilkennyweather.com for story on July 85 storm;
http://www.kilkennyweather.com/index.php/1985-worst-thunderstorm

quodec · 06-01-2010 10:55pm

The night of 25th/26th July 1985 is one I'll never forget - from a weather perspective!
The 25th July was on Thursday. I was working in Dundalk that day and followed up with some voluntary work in the town afterwards. The air became noticably 'heavy' and the sky darkened as the evening progressed. I heard one or two distant cracks of thunder around 7-8 pm but then spent the rest of the evening in a pub and later a disco. I eventually exited the town around 2 a.m. and made my way by car south to Dunleer on the (old) Dundalk-Dublin road. It was an amazing journey, one I'll never forget. Though there wasn't much rain the whole sky was continuously lit by what looked like sheet lightning and/or continuous air to ground strikes. I remember shaking in the car and even thinking that I could actually switch the lights of the car off and drive home by the light of the massive lightening display!
Making it to Dunleer I went to bed but one of the windows in the bedroom was open slightly (which I hadn't checked) and I was awakened later by what felt like electricity in the room and a static charge feeling on my shoulder - though I wasn't hurt and didn't feel anything else.
What a night. Will we ever see its like again?

nlgbbbblth · 07-01-2010 10:22pm

quodec wrote: »

The night of 25th/26th July 1985 is one I'll never forget - from a weather perspective!
The 25th July was on Thursday. I was working in Dundalk that day and followed up with some voluntary work in the town afterwards. The air became noticably 'heavy' and the sky darkened as the evening progressed. I heard one or two distant cracks of thunder around 7-8 pm but then spent the rest of the evening in a pub and later a disco. I eventually exited the town around 2 a.m. and made my way by car south to Dunleer on the (old) Dundalk-Dublin road. It was an amazing journey, one I'll never forget. Though there wasn't much rain the whole sky was continuously lit by what looked like sheet lightning and/or continuous air to ground strikes. I remember shaking in the car and even thinking that I could actually switch the lights of the car off and drive home by the light of the massive lightening display!
Making it to Dunleer I went to bed but one of the windows in the bedroom was open slightly (which I hadn't checked) and I was awakened later by what felt like electricity in the room and a static charge feeling on my shoulder - though I wasn't hurt and didn't feel anything else.
What a night. Will we ever see its like again?

thanks for sharing quodec, love reading about that great night in 1985.

Thomas828 · 07-01-2010 10:48pm

July 1985 was a dismal month even by Irish standards. I remember one morning when the clouds were so heavy you'd have sworn it was still night. And another morning of really thick fog, you couldn't see more than a metre or two in front of you, though that cleared up by 2pm.

DWCommuter · 08-01-2010 12:27am

I'm sick of the snow and sick of talking about it to people. So while I wait to see if this snow arrives on Sunday, I'd like to share my experiences of this unique event in 1985.

I was 13 at the time so I was very aware of what was happening. That Thursday I was in Corkagh Park in Clondalkin. By lunchtime the sky was just plain grey and the heaviness and heat was very noticeable especially since the sun wasn't shining. I was making a little film with a few friends on an old super 8mm camera. (the footage actually has the thunder sound on it!) By about 5pm we could hear distant rumbles of thunder but no noticeable lightening. We thought nothing of it. I went home and had my dinner. I remember sitting out the back garden at about 9pm and the rumbles were getting louder, but once again I thought nothing of it as this was common enough. Interestingly these rumbles had been going on all day, yet there was no rain.

Once back indoors I watched some TV and then eventually went to bed. My next ,memory is of being woken up by unmerciful claps of thunder. My room was at the back of the house facing out onto what was then fields. I lay in bed listening and watching. For long periods of time there was just lightening and no thunder at all. Eventually I went to the window and looked out. It was nothing short of a light show. As the back of our house was fields the full effect could be had. Sheet, fork, ribbon and all kinds of lightening were to be seen. When the thunder roared it was the loudest I had ever heard and to this day remains so. As it intensified I admit I got scared and went into my parents room. They were awake too. My sister eventually joined us and we all sat on the bed for the night very frightened, even my parents. This was thunder and lightening like nothing we had ever witnessed. It got so bad that the thunder and lightening appeared simultaneously. Flash followed flash and claps matched it. It was that intense.

My dad was a bit of a gung ho merchant and went to the window. I stupidly joined him and we saw lightening hit the road in front of the house. I remember sparks and dust under the street lights and standing over the hole the next day telling neighbours that lightening did it. It eventually calmed down as the sun came up and we all slept late. The next day it rained a lot and there were still rumbles of thunder to be heard all day. Then RTE did coverage of it on their news and had actual footage of the storm. The hearld was full of stories of how it had done damage across the city. As the weeks and months passed we evetually stopped talking about it, but it left me with a very distinct dislike of thunderstorms.

The following year (86) I was at the Simple minds concert in Croker and a very similar storm happened, but not as intense, yet still way out of the norm. I remember the lightening over the stage and the frightening walk home and no sleep due to the noise. Im 38 now and I have never experienced anything in Ireland like that since. I did experience it in 99 in Tenerife and it was even more terrifying as the buildings there aren't quite as insulated as they are in Ireland.

Will we ever see electrical storms like this in Ireland again? Who knows. But some of you guys who have never experienced it would probably love it despite the sheer danger it poses. I still wouldn't wish it on you though.

Deep Easterly · 08-01-2010 8:35am

DWCommuter wrote: »

I'm sick of the snow and sick of talking about it to people. So while I wait to see if this snow arrives on Sunday, I'd like to share my experiences of this unique event in 1985.

I was 13 at the time so I was very aware of what was happening. That Thursday I was in Corkagh Park in Clondalkin. By lunchtime the sky was just plain grey and the heaviness and heat was very noticeable especially since the sun wasn't shining. I was making a little film with a few friends on an old super 8mm camera. (the footage actually has the thunder sound on it!) By about 5pm we could hear distant rumbles of thunder but no noticeable lightening. We thought nothing of it. I went home and had my dinner. I remember sitting out the back garden at about 9pm and the rumbles were getting louder, but once again I thought nothing of it as this was common enough. Interestingly these rumbles had been going on all day, yet there was no rain.

Once back indoors I watched some TV and then eventually went to bed. My next ,memory is of being woken up by unmerciful claps of thunder. My room was at the back of the house facing out onto what was then fields. I lay in bed listening and watching. For long periods of time there was just lightening and no thunder at all. Eventually I went to the window and looked out. It was nothing short of a light show. As the back of our house was fields the full effect could be had. Sheet, fork, ribbon and all kinds of lightening were to be seen. When the thunder roared it was the loudest I had ever heard and to this day remains so. As it intensified I admit I got scared and went into my parents room. They were awake too. My sister eventually joined us and we all sat on the bed for the night very frightened, even my parents. This was thunder and lightening like nothing we had ever witnessed. It got so bad that the thunder and lightening appeared simultaneously. Flash followed flash and claps matched it. It was that intense.

My dad was a bit of a gung ho merchant and went to the window. I stupidly joined him and we saw lightening hit the road in front of the house. I remember sparks and dust under the street lights and standing over the hole the next day telling neighbours that lightening did it. It eventually calmed down as the sun came up and we all slept late. The next day it rained a lot and there were still rumbles of thunder to be heard all day. Then RTE did coverage of it on their news and had actual footage of the storm. The hearld was full of stories of how it had done damage across the city. As the weeks and months passed we evetually stopped talking about it, but it left me with a very distinct dislike of thunderstorms.

The following year (86) I was at the Simple minds concert in Croker and a very similar storm happened, but not as intense, yet still way out of the norm. I remember the lightening over the stage and the frightening walk home and no sleep due to the noise. Im 38 now and I have never experienced anything in Ireland like that since. I did experience it in 99 in Tenerife and it was even more terrifying as the buildings there aren't quite as insulated as they are in Ireland.

Will we ever see electrical storms like this in Ireland again? Who knows. But some of you guys who have never experienced it would probably love it despite the sheer danger it poses. I still wouldn't wish it on you though.

That is a fine, spine chilling account DW

, and very similar to my experience of the 86 storm(a largely western event). Just pure 100% violence. Your memory of the rumbles long before the storm hit are also similar to mine. I remember a hazy grey purple sky with no sun and frequent distant and overhead thunder, often without lightning or rain, occurring not only on the day before the main storm, but for several days afterwards, it was a very eerie, but very potent, experience, and one I can never see happening again in this country.

I live in hope though.

Ally Dick · 08-01-2010 4:35pm

DWCommuter wrote: »

The following year (86) I was at the Simple minds concert in Croker and a very similar storm happened, but not as intense, yet still way out of the norm

Was that not the second coming of Bono you were witnessing ? Was that the concert where Simple Minds blew them off the stage ?

SerialComplaint · 02-05-2010 9:45pm

DWCommuter wrote: »

The following year (86) I was at the Simple minds concert in Croker and a very similar storm happened, but not as intense, yet still way out of the norm. I remember the lightening over the stage and the frightening walk home and no sleep due to the noise. Im 38 now and I have never experienced anything in Ireland like that since.

Just Googling about that great gig in Croker - probably the best line-up for a gig that I ever experienced. It was the day that the Waterboys borrowed Steve Wickham (fiddler) from In Tua Nua, and never gave him back.

I remember the forked lightening running the length of Croker towards the stage as the gig came to its climax, like the best special effects you could ever ask for.

torrentum · 14-07-2010 8:52pm

I'll never forget this night. It's burned on my memory forever. It's actually one of my earliest vivid memories - I was 6 at the time. It started at about 6 or 7 pm. I was in the back yard. My father picked me up to see over the high wall at the side of our house and told me to watch the horizon. It wasn't long till I saw why. The bolt of lightning is still clearly visible in my memory as one of the most elaborate and scary I've ever witnessed. My father jokingly called it "spider lightning", cos' thats pretty much what it looked like - big and sprawled all over the sky.
It was amazing how frequent the lightning bolts were.
The situation just kept getting worse and worse as the evening wore on, and by nightfall, the situation could be best described as apocalyptic. Very violent lightning, and extremely loud thunder, sometimes both lightning and thunder happening at the same time. I remember at around 11pm I started to get scared, as both my parents were getting increasingly nervous. Sometimes, the lightning would produce the loudest strangest sounding thunder - with 5 or 6 bangs following each other in a 2 or 3 second interval. I think it was 4am or later by the time it died down enough for us to fall asleep. I've never ever experienced anything remotely close to this, either here or abroad, in terms of intensity, and the length of time the storm lasted.
My parents constantly talk of this storm whenever theres thunder around to this day "Ah thats nothin' compared to 1985, I'll never forget...." and off they'd go telling the story for the millionth time.
Has anyone here got any pics of the storm? Or it's aftermath? I'd really love to see them. Pity the storm didn't happen nearer to the present - could you imagine the wealth of pics/video available.

owenc · 14-07-2010 8:57pm

At least you have something to look up to and know that, the 1985 storm was far worse and that if you can survive that one you'll survive this one.

Danno · 15-07-2010 12:15am

Thanks for all your accounts folks... keep 'em coming. This storm was the reason I took such an interest in the weather. Gosh the 80s had it all, snowstorms, thunderstorms, heatwaves, wind storms... etc!

Deep Easterly · 15-07-2010 12:29am

Danno wrote: »

Gosh the 80s had it all, snowstorms, thunderstorms, heatwaves, wind storms... etc!

not to mention great music and hair!

back when men were real men! :P

WolfeIRE · 15-07-2010 10:57am

my first weather memory also. Remember outside with my Dad too watching this incredible display of forked lightning that seemed to go on all evening.

no wodner eighties hairstyles were so odd with all that electric energy about

maquiladora · 15-07-2010 11:17am

torrentum wrote: »

I'll never forget this night. It's burned on my memory forever. It's actually one of my earliest vivid memories - I was 6 at the time. It started at about 6 or 7 pm. I was in the back yard. My father picked me up to see over the high wall at the side of our house and told me to watch the horizon. It wasn't long till I saw why. The bolt of lightning is still clearly visible in my memory as one of the most elaborate and scary I've ever witnessed. My father jokingly called it "spider lightning", cos' thats pretty much what it looked like - big and sprawled all over the sky.
It was amazing how frequent the lightning bolts were.
The situation just kept getting worse and worse as the evening wore on, and by nightfall, the situation could be best described as apocalyptic. Very violent lightning, and extremely loud thunder, sometimes both lightning and thunder happening at the same time. I remember at around 11pm I started to get scared, as both my parents were getting increasingly nervous. Sometimes, the lightning would produce the loudest strangest sounding thunder - with 5 or 6 bangs following each other in a 2 or 3 second interval. I think it was 4am or later by the time it died down enough for us to fall asleep. I've never ever experienced anything remotely close to this, either here or abroad, in terms of intensity, and the length of time the storm lasted.
My parents constantly talk of this storm whenever theres thunder around to this day "Ah thats nothin' compared to 1985, I'll never forget...." and off they'd go telling the story for the millionth time.
Has anyone here got any pics of the storm? Or it's aftermath? I'd really love to see them. Pity the storm didn't happen nearer to the present - could you imagine the wealth of pics/video available.

I had almost the exact same experience and I was only thinking about it the other day, I was in Kilkenny too at the time and was around 5 years old and its one of my earliest and most vivid memories. I remember my father lifting me up so I could see out the window and the entire sky was constantly flashing with lightning near and far, in almost every direction like something from a cartoon or movie, I've never seen anything even close to that in Ireland since then.

owenc · 15-07-2010 11:40am

Deep Easterly wrote: »

not to mention great music and hair!

back when men were real men! :P

You mean weird hairstyles!:eek:

torrentum · 15-07-2010 2:54pm

Danno wrote: »

Thanks for all your accounts folks... keep 'em coming. This storm was the reason I took such an interest in the weather. Gosh the 80s had it all, snowstorms, thunderstorms, heatwaves, wind storms... etc!

Danno, this storm is also the reason I'm facinated with the weather, especially Tstorms. I think this storm shaped the mindset of a lot of the people who experienced it; to either make them nervous/afraid of thunder, or, as in my case, to like it. The weather of the 80's really makes the weather of the last few years look relatively tame.

Mr Benevolent · 15-07-2010 3:35pm

The weather of the 80's really makes the weather of the last few years look relatively tame.

So now even the weather was better in the old days? Come on.

Min · 15-07-2010 9:48pm

I have a love/hate relationship with thunderstorms.

I love looking at lightning, I love the fact it puts nitrogen into the ground so is great for grass.
I hate working outside if there is a thunderstorm as there is always a risk.
I do be concerned for my cattle if the storm is severe as I will always remember on my uncle's farm where the storm in 1985 killed 8 of his cattle.

The storm in 1985 will be a storm that will continue to be talked about for the decades to come, maybe like the snowstorm of 1947.

I was looking at some data and I see near where I live 21mm of rain fell in a 15 minute period.
I will remember it as we here were caught out in it, in a field with several lightning strikes in the field and the sheer fear, the length it went on for and the noise of it - both rain and thunder.

It is the type of weather that needs respect due to the danger.

Mayo Exile · 18-07-2010 4:42pm

Thermal infrared satellite image at 0400 on 26 July 1985.

Credit to: NERC Satellite Receiving Station, Dundee University, Scotland
Link: http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/

torrentum · 25-07-2010 12:31pm

25 years ago today since that storm.
Will we ever see anything like it again??

(Thanks to Deep Easterly for the reminder)

Mr Benevolent · 25-07-2010 11:09pm

torrentum wrote: »

25 years ago today since that storm.
Will we ever see anything like it again??

Very likely.

Realtine · 26-07-2010 12:15am

omg I've only just noticed this thread and I can tell you I remember that night very well. My boyfriend and myself were living in a basement bedsit in Belgrave square Rathmines at the time and I love thunderstorms so I was super excited when it started. I insisted on going outside and walking around the square dragging himself reluctantly behind me - very shortly after we realized that this wasn't going away and wasn't like our usual 10 minute storm - we legged it back to our basement hovel and sheltered under the barred up window realising that we were actually living in a death trap - there was only one way in and out and if the electrics were hit or the house went on fire we were probably done for because there was only one way out through the front door and as I said the one window we had was barred on the outside.
was there some concert on that night RDS maybe?
Anyway

I was so scared I thought it would never end and we didn't get much sleep that night - I can't remember when it ended but I swear we moved out the next day.
Still love storms - just don't seem to get enough of them, although tonight feels just right for one for some reason.

Oh no wait this was in 1986 not 85 - wrong storm! Still a belter tho. 85 I was living in UK - me mam told me about that one alright.

Mayo Exile · 28-07-2010 11:20pm

The storms of 27 (one poster above mentioned the 27th) & 28 July 1986 have also been mentioned in this thread. Here are two sat pics in the visible spectrum taken in the afternoon of both days. Whats probably most noticable is the fine structure of the depression SW of Ireland. No images are available of the actual times of T-storms over Ireland.

Credit to: NERC Satellite Receiving Station, Dundee University, Scotland
Link: http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/

Su Campu · 13-09-2010 1:08pm

Here's an excellent analysis of the 25/26th July 1985 thunderstorm, concentrating on Northern Ireland, but still valid for the south too.

loup · 13-09-2010 2:18pm

Su Campu wrote: »

Here's an excellent analysis of the 25/26th July 1985 thunderstorm, concentrating on Northern Ireland, but still valid for the south too.

Thanks Su,I read the synopsis but they are charging $35 dollars :eek: for the whole article! If you have access is there any chance you could post the summary maybe? Thanks!!:D

snowjon · 13-09-2010 4:07pm

Su Campu wrote: »

Here's an excellent analysis of the 25/26th July 1985 thunderstorm, concentrating on Northern Ireland, but still valid for the south too.

Cool! That's written by Nick Betts - my old lecturer in Queen's!

Su Campu · 13-09-2010 4:07pm

loup wrote: »

Thanks Su,I read the synopsis but they are charging $35 dollars :eek: for the whole article! If you have access is there any chance you could post the summary maybe? Thanks!!:D

Oops, sorry, I forgot that! :rolleyes: I don't think I can post it as it's copyrighted material.

Basically the situation arose when a slack area of low pressure in the Bay of Biscay moved northwards through the Irish Sea, interacting as it did so with a sharp upper trough which was moving eastwards from the Atlantic. The lower atmopshere was unusually rich in mositure for these latitudes, and that coupled with the cooling upper layers from the trough led to high instability, with strong updrafts giving hail up to 3cm in diameter. Cloud tops were at around -56°C, at a height of around 11kms (250ha). There was a 5 hour period of continuous lightning from 0400GMT (in Ulster - it was earlier down south).

They noted that there was no orographically enhanced rainfall, as surface winds were very light, so the lift mechanism was due to a frontal boundary lying SW-NE, with the warm front moving westwards as the low moved northwards through the Irish Sea. It then retreated back eastwards as the low moved up over Scotland.

Some rainfall totals:

Dungannon - 85mm (44.2mm from 2300-2400GMT)
Glarryford - 65mm
Newry - 55mm

loup · 13-09-2010 4:24pm

Thanks Su..OMG the rainfall totals were mad, 44mm in one hour, wow!

Deep Easterly · 13-09-2010 4:27pm

Su Campu wrote: »

Basically the situation arose when a slack area of low pressure in the Bay of Biscay moved northwards through the Irish Sea, interacting as it did so with a sharp upper trough which was moving eastwards from the Atlantic. uous lightning from 0400GMT (in Ulster - it was earlier down south).

Thanks for posting up that link and the summary, and thanks to Fionagus as well.

Made for very interesting reading. Here are the synoptic charts that were posted in the article. Only showed surface pressure charts from 0000hrs 26th July to 27th July, with geopotential chart from 1200hrs 25th:

Very explosive set up. Warm and very unstable contiental/Biscay plume coming in contact with unstable polar maritime.

Pow!!!

Ravomix · 17-11-2011 12:51am

irish_bob wrote: »

Danno wrote: »

Indeed the eighties were interesting, but I was quite young and can only remember the July 1985 storm as my first weather memory. I do recall that every summer from 1985-1989 was crap with the exception of the first week of April 1988 or 1989 which was pure class for sunshine and heat.
The winter floods of 1989 were awful.
The winter snow of 1987 was mega, being 4ft high and trundeling through 3ft difts was quite a treat!

i remember 89 being a fantastic summer , not as good as the summer of 95 overall but a few days in the summer of 89 were warmer than anything in 95 , i was only 6 in 1983 but i think i remember (those 3 days as the older generation refer to them ) a particulary sweltering period

anyway the storm of 85 and 86 , the one in 85 lasted longer but i remember the storm of 86 being incredibly violent also where i live , the phone in one of my neighbours ( live in the country ) house was mounted on the wall and blown to smithereens or so the legend goes
i was often told about a storm years ago where 2 horses who lived in a field close to my house were incinerated , all you could see was the marks in the field from there hooves

i dont remember a storm from 1990 but i do remember one from around august of 91 , along with my parents i came across a traffice accident involving a lorry around 4.30 pm and by the time we got through and got home around 5.30 pm ,. the storm began , it only lasted about 2 hrs but was a good un , that one may only have been in a relativly localised area though ,

There was a major thunderstorm confined to mainly south kilkenny/tipperary on monday night 29th july/into tuesday morning 30th july 1991,alot of damage done,made the front page of the tipperary star newspaper that week.Back to the 1985 storm,i was 8 at the time,remember being on my grandparents farm outside thurles when at 7.30 pm a huge clap of thunder went off.I made my way back to the house,my grandmother kept asking where my grandfather was.it was getting dark at that stage andthe storm was getting severe.It turns out he was in a hayshed about a mile from the house afraid to walk home.And he was normally afraid of nothing.Tells you how violent that storm was.He didnt get back till around 4 am when the storm finally eased off.A number of cattle he had were killed.We dont seem to get much in the way of thunderstorms anymore for some reason.One or two rumbles with a heavy shower is as much as get nowadays.

CorkMetMan · 17-06-2012 2:01am

I remember this storm well, even though I was only 9 at the time. I've seen a few good ones since, but none compare to the 1985 event for sheer violence and longevity.

I always had a keen interest in the weather, but this sharpened it even more! I remember the day of the 25th in Cloyne, Co. Cork, was unremarkable to begin with, but by midday and early afternoon it had become noticeably clammy and humid, with some sea fog coming and going in a very light southeasterly breeze. Nothing too unusual about that; and nothing untoward about the sky either, just low stratus with stratocumulus above. No mention on the radio forecasts of the violence to come at this stage either.

Around 3.30pm local time, the sky cleared enough to allow some very pleasant sunshine through, in fact this clear gap would remain until the very worst of the storm approached at 8pm. With the added effect of the sunshine, it felt very warm indeed, although the maximum temperature reached that day was 19.8c, again unremarkable for late July.

The first warning that all was not quite as it seemed came at around 6pm when large altocumulus castellanus clouds began to form to the east and southeast; these rapidly developed into high based CB, with rumbles of thunder audible from 6.30 local time onwards. This band of CBs continued to grow steadily until the sky to the east and southeast was the most terrifying I have ever witnessed; purple black with a hint of green with frequent CG lightning and constant thunder. The storm appeared to be still offshore Ballycotton and Shanagarry, with the sky still clear overhead and to the west with the sun still shining!

After about 90 minutes of gradually approaching thunder, the first huge drops of rain began around 8pm, with the sky becoming even more hideous as the storm approached. I still remember the setting sun still shining as the thunder raged! From 8.30 to 11pm was pure bedlam; constant lightning; the strokes were too frequent to even attempt to count them, with constant deafening thunder. Several strikes in our garden alone, with the phone blown off the wall at 9pm. A brief lull followed from 11pm to 1am, as in the storm moved more to our west and north but not quite overhead anymore. A second pulse arrived from 1am to 3.30am, with some really incredible thunder and large hail. The storm finally moved away to the northeast after that, but the entire family had by that stage decided to remain in the one room; my brave self and sister having joined our parents in terror!

Although similar storms occurred in June 1986, along with the curious "clear gap" arriving before the storm, they were not as violent at as the July 1985 event. I think we are overdue some serious thunderstorm action; so maybe we'll get one soon that I can appreciate as an adult!

Elmer Blooker · 17-06-2012 11:02pm

I can remember another brilliant storm on August 25th 2000 though nowhere near as violent as 1985 it was a fantastic electrical display.

Sponge Bob · 18-06-2012 12:54am

There was a localised Galway event in 1995 during the races, I'd say around weds the 3rd or 4th of August 1995.

It generated around 700 strikes in County Galway alone and one strike was caught live by RTE on Camera when it hit a High Voltage pylon on the S Side of the racecourse.

Min · 18-06-2012 1:46pm

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

I can remember another brilliant storm on August 25th 2000 though nowhere near as violent as 1985 it was a fantastic electrical display.

Was that a squall line?

I have been trying to remember when a squall line crossed the country, it was very intense and had several funnel clouds on the back edge, one even looked like it might have been a tornado. I wonder if this was it.

Elmer Blooker · 18-06-2012 4:50pm

This (Aug '00) is the only Spanish plume event that I know of in this country. The 1985 storm was during a cold and wet miserable summer.
I can remember sitting in the garden on a very warm night (until the rain got too heavy) with spectacular lightning high in the clouds, often called "sheet" lightning even though there's no such thing. It was as good as anything I've seen in a Mediterranean country.

squonk · 19-06-2012 1:07pm

I think I remember that event myself. We were doing silage and I remember it being very hot during the day. It was a hazy day but quite fine and there were no real indicators of anything happening til about 8 or so. I remember it raining then and later I remember some terrrible thunder and lightening. That maybe the 86 event too actually. I was only 10 and 11 when both events happened so wasn't entirely sure.

I'm struggling to remember that August 2000 event actually. Did it hit Dublin? I was based there at the time. I have no recollection of any particularly bad lightening around that time.

I do remember a night in 1996 around late September or early October when there was a long lasting thunderstorm with IC lightening that went on for hours in Dublin. I don't think any of it turned into CG. I actually think it was October 24 1996, a Thursday night.

20silkcut · 19-06-2012 10:25pm

If you want thunder then surely new York or anywhere in the north east united states in August is the place to be. Long way back to 1985.

lolie · 19-06-2012 11:58pm

Min wrote: »

Was that a squall line?

I have been trying to remember when a squall line crossed the country, it was very intense and had several funnel clouds on the back edge, one even looked like it might have been a tornado. I wonder if this was it.

Was there a squal line 10/11 years ago around new years day??
Vagly remember been woken up about 10am by the rain, as heavy as i've ever seen.
Then hearing reports on the news later on about roof's damaged by a small tornado in co meath.

dloob · 20-06-2012 12:42am

I think there was some activity in Galway in August 00.
I moved to Galway in August 99 and there was definitely some good storms that August.
Those two years really set me up with some false expectations for Galway thunderstorms. :pac:

Hammer Archer · 20-06-2012 1:16am

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

I can remember another brilliant storm on August 25th 2000 though nowhere near as violent as 1985 it was a fantastic electrical display.

Remember that vividly. I was 12 years old and the sky was lit up from around midday to nightfall. Also, our house was struck by lightning while myself and a friend were playing video games. Quite the shock it gave us :pac:

lolie wrote: »

Was there a squal line 10/11 years ago around new years day??
Vagly remember been woken up about 10am by the rain, as heavy as i've ever seen.
Then hearing reports on the news later on about roof's damaged by a small tornado in co meath.

That was New Years Day in 2005 I think. A good few houses in Clonee were damaged. A number of trees around my area were uprooted that day from straight line winds.

Edit: Yup http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0101/weather.html

lolie · 20-06-2012 2:01am

Hammer Archer wrote: »

That was New Years Day in 2005 I think. A good few houses in Clonee were damaged. A number of trees around my area were uprooted that day from straight line winds.

Edit: Yup http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0101/weather.html

Thats it alright, remember hearing about the houses in clonee on the news.

Thought it was earlier than that.

djhaxman · 20-06-2012 12:24pm

20silkcut wrote: »

If you want thunder then surely new York or anywhere in the north east united states in August is the place to be. Long way back to 1985.

Florida. Anytime between March and September.

shedweller · 14-08-2013 7:18pm

Sorry to dig up an old thread but it makes sense to me to keep this info in one place. Anyway, i was talking to my dad last weekend about the storm in july 85 and he described the lightning to me. At the time i was cowering under the bedsheets so i missed the visuals. Man am i regretting that. He said that amongst the constant lightning was what i can only describe as a plasma. Going by his description it reminds me of those plasma balls where you touch the glass ball and all the tendrils become one at the contact point. He said that he saw a purple-ish glow covering the barn roof and rising at its highest point into a tendril not unlike those plasma balls i mentioned and shooting slowly into the air. Slowly compared to lightning i suppose. He said it also covered the yard at a height of maybe a foot off the ground and randomly rose in tendrils into the air. Some of it wound around a tree nearby and he said it looked like you heated an iron rod to white heat and wrapped it around the trunk of the tree, up a few branches and off into the sky.
I have spent some time trying to find what this was but perhaps my search terms are incorrect.
I have never heard of this type of phenomenon before so id be interested to hear what the experts here think.

maquiladora · 14-08-2013 7:34pm

shedweller wrote: »

Sorry to dig up an old thread but it makes sense to me to keep this info in one place. Anyway, i was talking to my dad last weekend about the storm in july 85 and he described the lightning to me. At the time i was cowering under the bedsheets so i missed the visuals. Man am i regretting that. He said that amongst the constant lightning was what i can only describe as a plasma. Going by his description it reminds me of those plasma balls where you touch the glass ball and all the tendrils become one at the contact point. He said that he saw a purple-ish glow covering the barn roof and rising at its highest point into a tendril not unlike those plasma balls i mentioned and shooting slowly into the air. Slowly compared to lightning i suppose. He said it also covered the yard at a height of maybe a foot off the ground and randomly rose in tendrils into the air. Some of it wound around a tree nearby and he said it looked like you heated an iron rod to white heat and wrapped it around the trunk of the tree, up a few branches and off into the sky.
I have spent some time trying to find what this was but perhaps my search terms are incorrect.
I have never heard of this type of phenomenon before so id be interested to hear what the experts here think.

St Elmo's Fire.

shedweller · 14-08-2013 7:55pm

maquiladora wrote: »

St Elmo's Fire.

I guess my search terms were way off then. Although i have heard of st elmos fire i thought it was where bog gas burnt off. I shall now youtube the hell out of st elmos fire for the night!

maquiladora · 14-08-2013 8:06pm

shedweller wrote: »

I guess my search terms were way off then. Although i have heard of st elmos fire i thought it was where bog gas burnt off. I shall now youtube the hell out of st elmos fire for the night!

Ive seen a couple of videos of it taken from the cockpit of a plane that shows the plasma very nicely.

DOCARCH · 14-08-2013 8:43pm

maquiladora wrote: »

St Elmo's Fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVf4_WglzWA

Cheesy! :P But appropriate for the year!

Like shedweller, I too now very much regret cowering under the sheets/blankets. I was 12 at the time and I don't think I was ever so scared in my life! The constant lightning and thunder was simply unreal.

dopolahpec · 14-08-2013 11:28pm

shedweller wrote: »

Sorry to dig up an old thread but it makes sense to me to keep this info in one place. Anyway, i was talking to my dad last weekend about the storm in july 85 and he described the lightning to me. At the time i was cowering under the bedsheets so i missed the visuals. Man am i regretting that. He said that amongst the constant lightning was what i can only describe as a plasma. Going by his description it reminds me of those plasma balls where you touch the glass ball and all the tendrils become one at the contact point. He said that he saw a purple-ish glow covering the barn roof and rising at its highest point into a tendril not unlike those plasma balls i mentioned and shooting slowly into the air. Slowly compared to lightning i suppose. He said it also covered the yard at a height of maybe a foot off the ground and randomly rose in tendrils into the air. Some of it wound around a tree nearby and he said it looked like you heated an iron rod to white heat and wrapped it around the trunk of the tree, up a few branches and off into the sky.
I have spent some time trying to find what this was but perhaps my search terms are incorrect.
I have never heard of this type of phenomenon before so id be interested to hear what the experts here think.

I was 6 during that storm and my neighbour's house caught fire *sitting room anyway* after a lightning strike. I also saw purplish/pink ball lightning hovering mid-air (seemingly) and also rolling about on heaped topsoil behind our house - quite slowly too.

My father, mother, sister and neighbours experienced it also. None of us ever saw anything like it before or since, to the extent I've questioned whether it even happened. But my family and neighbours assure me it did. For some reason it felt paranormal at the time. Like the regular thunderstorm was merely a cloak for something stranger. A sense that is not helped by never having experienced anything similar since

Severe Thunderstorm July 25th/26th 1985

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