Convective/Thunderstorm Discussion : 2019 and Winter 2020

Donegal Storm · 10-03-2019 12:02pm

Big ominous boom of thunder in Letterkenny, the thunder gods must have read my complaining the other day :pac:

Torrential hail just started now

Oscar Bravo · 10-03-2019 12:59pm

Documentary about lightning on Rte2 this evening(Sunday) @ 5.30

Storm 10 · 10-03-2019 8:19pm

Lightning West of Galway

Oscar Bravo · 10-03-2019 8:27pm

Loads on Mayo coast now also

Storm 10 · 10-03-2019 8:29pm

Two more big ones North West Galway in approaching shower

FBWT · 10-03-2019 11:37pm

Just out having a smoke in the back yard, can hear some rumbles off in the distance. Possibly out over Cork harbour ðŸ€”

Meteorite58 · 10-03-2019 11:43pm

Thunder and lightning here near Tralee also earlier , very wintry blustery night, going to be a long week of it.

Sferics detected since 09.00 this morning .

Meteorite58 · 11-03-2019 12:44am

https://twitter.com/MetEireann/status/1104874369355001856

Meteorite58 · 11-03-2019 10:05pm

Looking like plenty of convective showers after the front clears tonight into tomorrow and as the day goes on. Hail and thunder possible .

Storm 10 · 12-03-2019 8:41am

Lightning North West Galway

Meteorite58 · 12-03-2019 10:01pm

The main area of thunderstorms seems to be pulling away from N Ire towards Scotland , EUMETSTAT showing an area that might produce sparks moving into the W/ NW .

Graces7 · 13-03-2019 10:42am

rarely seen as much lightning as these last days pre and during gareth. Also never seen bright blue lightning before either . Could hardly hear the thunder for the gale gusts.
west mayo offshore outpost

Graces7 · 13-03-2019 10:45am

dmc17 wrote: »

Where are the pics? If on your computer, just need to click the attach file icon (paperclip icon) when composing your post.

I have dozens of photos on my phone but this laptop it emerges ( google ) does not have the files it needs to send to computer.

highdef · 13-03-2019 10:55am

Graces7 wrote: »

I have dozens of photos on my phone but this laptop it emerges ( google ) does not have the files it needs to send to computer.

If you email the photos to yourself, then you can access the photos on your laptop.

pad199207 · 17-03-2019 2:55pm

Ridiculous Hail here in Naas from this. Set alarms off everywhere!

Meteorite58 · 30-03-2019 6:59pm

Tues shaping up to produce a fair share of convective weather it would seem. With the passage of an upper Low and quite cold uppers , plenty of moisture in the atmosphere and some shear available and with the sun getting stronger - all together looks like producing quite an amount of heavy showers of rain and hail and at this stage looks like a few could produce lightning. One to keep an eye on.

Meteorite58 · 30-03-2019 8:53pm

Not a huge amount of shear but Cape levels looking good enough for a fairly lively thunderstorm on Tues perhaps as diurnal heating takes effect during the day. Strong Jet nearby.

Could be some locally very heavy gusty showers of rain and hail.

Thunderstorms could occur anywhere but could see some maturing as they move well inland towards Ireland's 'Thunderstorm alley' :pac:.

Maybe I am jumping the gun but thinking we could be seeing some good reports and Pics from highdef and Pad and others on Tuesday.

ECM normally conservative showing increasing amounts of Cape and potential these last few runs.

Meteorite58 · 30-03-2019 9:55pm

Will be interesting to see what type of convective activity develops on Tuesday.

Lapse rates look steep enough if there are enough breaks in the cloud perhaps .

SlowBlowin · 31-03-2019 3:27am

I used to like lightening, until I moved to the mountains. We have had 2 direct strikes in 8 years, one of which was quite bizarre.

I lost EVERY electrical item in the house, including a 2 month old 48 inch Samsung TV, now I buy the cheapest I can. Now when these is a storm the power get switched off at the box, but we have still heard arcs from the consumer unit.

Please no more.

ZX7R · 31-03-2019 4:20am

SlowBlowin wrote: »

I used to like lightening, until I moved to the mountains. We have had 2 direct strikes in 8 years, one of which was quite bizarre.

I lost EVERY electrical item in the house, including a 2 month old 48 inch Samsung TV, now I buy the cheapest I can. Now when these is a storm the power get switched off at the box, but we have still heard arcs from the consumer unit.

Please no more.

Why don't you get a lightning conductor installed,not cheap but in your case worth the cost

PukkaStukka · 31-03-2019 2:51pm

ZX7R wrote: »

SlowBlowin wrote: »

I used to like lightening, until I moved to the mountains. We have had 2 direct strikes in 8 years, one of which was quite bizarre.

I lost EVERY electrical item in the house, including a 2 month old 48 inch Samsung TV, now I buy the cheapest I can. Now when these is a storm the power get switched off at the box, but we have still heard arcs from the consumer unit.

Please no more.

Why don't you get a lightning conductor installed,not cheap but in your case worth the cost

Unfortunately that wouldn't protect against mains-bourne lightning, only against a direct strike.

In a past life, I used to repair brown goods and every time there was a significant electrical storm in our area, my bench would be full for the next week because mains-bourne lightning would've taken out a swathe of sets and appliances. Even worse, a third of the stuff would be binned because the cost of repair was uneconomic, or the damage too severe to repair. In one house, I found bits of a blown tuner stuck in the TV sets case because the outside aerial was struck. Mercifully nobody hurt and nothing else damaged.

Anti surge protection devices would be a help, but mass disconnection of everything - as the OP has done here - is the best course of action.

SlowBlowin · 31-03-2019 10:01pm

Its not just the immediate aftermath, anything that does not fail, WILL FAIL in the next month. I lost stuff that was not plugged in !

When we had the last strike, which I am sure was ball lightening, there were dull thuds though out the house as various electrical devices exploded. It lasted about 20 seconds, I was in the loo when it started, no sound, just an extremely bright light,, I remember the edge of the light as it came though the door, sharp edged, bright as anything I had ever seen. I walked into the kitchen and it was too bright to see anything, then an enormous explosion, later found a hole in the ground outside the kitchen window about a two foot wide and a foot deep.

The neighbouring farmer came up and said he saw my place "full of sparks" and heard the bang so he came up. He lost his TV and phone etc. One by one I changed the satellite dish the LNB, the receiver and the TV, and it still did not work. After a lot of fiddling I found the inner conductor of the coax cable was gone, melted away, just little beads of copper left.

Most of our issues come from the mains though, we are 80% off grid, but still have that connection, which is a major source of trouble. I have some jelly filled fast acting power filters, they are meant to be the best and the seem to help.

So NO, I dont want lightening on Tuesday.

SlowBlowin · 31-03-2019 10:07pm

I know someone is going to pull me up on the 80% off grid thing, let me clarify.

In the summer we survive on renewables, in the winter we use the mains to charge the batteries, and run the freezer and fridge.

Storm 10 · 31-03-2019 10:19pm

Many years ago I worked in a City main telephone exchange in the UK, when ever there were thunderstorms in the local area we would place bets to see which of the local exchanges would get knocked out first by lightning strike.

PukkaStukka · 31-03-2019 10:30pm

Storm 10 wrote: »

Many years ago I worked in a City main telephone exchange in the UK, when ever there were thunderstorms in the local area we would place bets to see which of the local exchanges would get knocked out first by lightning strike.

I spoke about mains borne lightning and anything metal can conduct it. Aerial down leads, satellite cables, phone lines and even metal pipes can be lethal.

Lightning over a phone line is 100% lethal to anything plugged into it. The phone instrument itself, modems, fax machines were always guaranteed irreparable by lightning.

Also saw the aftermath of a chimney breast ilightning strike n a house hit not far from the family homestead. The chimney stack outside was obliterated from the roof and the breast had a massive crack in the bedroom forged by the lightning heading to earth.

It's an amazing phenomenon in the sky but a frightening one once it comes to.ground

SlowBlowin · 31-03-2019 10:34pm

I am planning to buy/make a field mill in the next year. I am hoping that will give me enough time to disconnect.

Storm 10 · 31-03-2019 10:36pm

SlowBlowin wrote: »

I am planning to buy/make a field mill in the next year. I am hoping that will give me enough time to disconnect.

Can I ask you where are you located

SlowBlowin · 31-03-2019 10:46pm

drive.jpg

I am very high up in the Macgillycuddy Reeks in Kerry.

Heres a shot from my drive CCTV earlier today.

PukkaStukka · 31-03-2019 10:57pm

That looks a very beautiful place!

SlowBlowin · 31-03-2019 11:00pm

PukkaStukka wrote: »

That looks a very beautiful place!

Thanks, its is, but you can probably understand why I always on the weather forums...

Convective/Thunderstorm Discussion : 2019 and Winter 2020

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