We had some today....and it got " interesting" at times....so, I have a query or two please for the serious met. people on here...and one for anybody operating from BHX today.

Watched the CB's develop nicely from say about 08.30 ish....then noticed that the wind was virtually zero.... at ground level anyway..and it remained like this for some time...CB's getting bigger...then comes the flash / bang bit and rain....I have not seen what amounted to continuous lightning / thunder over an extended period in the UK for a very long time....allied to which, it wasn't until the trailing edge of the storm arrived, that the wind started to perform as you would expect with a CB......hence, I would appreciate a serious explanation please as to why these conditions prevailed...notably regarding the continuous noise and light show....and the marked lack of wind strength...there were also an awful lot of "mud" stains on the cars after the rain ceased. Met. terms appreciated in any response please

As for BHX. had the very strange sight of a 757 heading N.West at about 11.15 hrs....strange because of the altitude..Shawbury METARS was giving a 6000ft base at the time....the a/c was below cloud base....and the fact it was heading roughly in the direction of Shawbury from BHX....and I was about 25 road miles from BHX.....a strange departure and unique in many respects.... hence the query.

As the thunderstorm transitions from the growing to the mature stage, the rain falling down drags air with it, so you get a charge of air out of the bottom of the storm, which (when it hits the ground) spreads out to form the "gust front".

Outflow boundary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outflow_boundary)

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/graphics/photos0910/gustfront1.jpg

If there is a gradient wind as well - say from the left in the above pic - the wind and the gust front can cancel each other out on one side of the storm.

So, can one then extrapolate an "outflow boundary" with certain Mothers-In-Law: they are quiet and innocuous at first then become full-fledged wind bags later on during the "mature" phase?

They're even better when they dissipate :ok:

Checkboard.....thanks for that response.....:ok:

Interesting little slip of the tongue last night on the local news weather bulletin ....no weather warnings were issued for the W.Mids it seems...strange that, given the self adulation that followed a certain "snow event" a few years ago when the stuff fell on London..... and how this was predicted... given the evident development of the system from early morning onward.......:hmm: