Significant weather approaching Heathrow now with impressive lightning

[ILS27LEFT]

Significant weather approaching LHR now, from N-NW, quite unprecedented in terms of lightning intensity and frequency I have to say. It is basically constant lightning which I have never seen before.

[treadigraph]

Friend just sent me video of the CB shot in Caterham looking NW towards LHR a few minutes ago; amazingly active.

While walking over local commons and Kenley Aerodrome earlier on this evening I was keeping an eye on a very large and slow moving CB in much the same area. Couldn't see any lightning though. Think this one was building behind as I dropped into the valley at Whyteleaf.

[Cynical Sid]

Similar story in Kent last night. Lightning was non stop and the thunder a continuous roar. I have never seen it continuous like that before in this region.

[ILS27LEFT]

It is constant, a lightning strike every second at least, never seen this intensity, live map here
https://www.lightningmaps.org/?lang=en#x=-0.7221;m=sat;r=0;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;n=0;y=51.7466;z=9;d=2;dl=2;d c=0;

[Brat]

Was videoing a CB I noticed earlier this evening looking out towards Heathrow. The build up was very rapid, and as has been mention with an unprecedented amount of lightening.

Last night’s display over London was amazing and I was out on the balcony watching that and the pretty heavy rainfall that came with it.

[TBSC]

Yep, the Gulf Stream is going nuts, winter is cold and snowy, summer is hot and stormy, better get used to it. Next step is having tornadoes in Europe (proper and not just the odd one). All done by the Chinese of course.

[treadigraph]

Here's the beastie presumably shot around Hounslow... much better video than the one my friend shot. It was actually north of High Wycombe and appeared to be slowly moving NW.

https://youtu.be/SasauCQS8po

[Capn Bloggs]

Just remember. If you see it, it's missed you. :ok:

[Herod]

[QUOTE]Just remember. If you see it, it's missed you[/QUOTE

Only if you have somewhere else to go. More years ago than I care to remember, there was a big, unforecast nasty that started off over the Channel Islands. We were coming back to Stansted from Frankfurt when we were told both Heathrow and Gatwick were closed. The approach to Stansted 23 (in those days) was clear, but we could see this huge storm coming from the London area, and getting very close. The only option for a go-around was an immediate 180 turn and head for Norwich. We advised ATC of this, telling them to hell with noise-sensitive areas. We, and one other behind us, landed before Stansted also closed. Sitting in the crew-bus, I watched the sky turn green. The only time I've ever seen that, and I presume it was ionisation?

[Capn Bloggs]

Sorry Herod, I was being silly. I was referring to a/the lightning bolts!

[Herod]

Yes, I know; but it gave me a chance to tell my story. ;) Does anyone have an explanation for the green sky? I have always assumed ionisation, but I don't know.

[EDLB]

Yes, I know; but it gave me a chance to tell my story. ;) Does anyone have an explanation for the green sky? I have always assumed ionisation, but I don't know.
Sure why not. Aurora borelais is the same thing. Mostly green. Thunderstorm ionisation can go very high if looked from a satellit or space station.

[Nightstop]

The green sky is thought to be due to refraction of light through water droplets/hail. Google it, there’s lots of research into the phenomenon.

[Mr Optimistic]

This quote doesn't really explain it, but does show you are not making it up! Human eye is most sensitive to green which must be in there somewhere.


'An infrequent event can occur where the entire sky appears green. This is called a green thunderstorm. This happens when a thunderstorm occurs at just the right time of day, with just the right height of clouds, and just the right lighting. This can make the entire sky rather than just a thin band appear to be grayish green, and sometimes very green.'

[slowjet]

C'mon guys. Keep up with the conspiracy stuff. Chem trails, alimatar ,aliens are amongst us and the New Order are slowly trying to educate us by these weather displays. All so that we take our eyes off the ball while Trump takes on Vlad & kim. Simple really. Aaaaaaaaagh, just got hit by a bolt.

[ShyTorque]

The lightning that occurred earlier this weekend reminded me of a "Lightning storm" that caught out a bunch of us kids, in about 1970. We were out in the fields when the storm approached, initially there was no rain, only multiple lightning strikes in a purple and green sky, getting closer. We eventually ran out of the fields in the hope of escaping it - I was a very fast runner back then and was in front of "the pack". About a mile later, as we ran through a building site the heavens opened and a large tree got struck by lightning, just off to my right side. The rest of the pack screamed blue murder; they thought I'd taken the hit because I disappeared in the flash. All I knew was that an extremely loud bang occurred at the same time as the lightning flashed all around, I was knocked off my feet and my surroundings briefly turned bright yellow. There was a very strong after smell, which I later learned was ozone (yes, not caused by me!). I never felt a thing, the lightning never actually touched me.

[Dannyboy39]

Despite the relative severity and widespread nature of it around the London airports bar Gatwick, surprised there wasn't more disruption bar a few extended holds.

I'm sure our American cousins are thinking right now this is a normal day for them in May (or any other month for that matter!)

[spongenotbob]

Sitting in the crew-bus, I watched the sky turn green. The only time I've ever seen that, and I presume it was ionisation?

This happens in the SE USA sometimes... usually it means there’s an extremely intense storm (tornado) very close so better take cover.

[Del Prado]

I really like to hear
“<callsign> requested left/right 10/20 for weather.”
I don’t like
”<callsign> We’ve got a bit of weather ahead, about 12 miles and it extends all the way from X to about Y, is there any chance we could turn before?”

RT is always really busy when there’s weather, let’s keep it brief.

[Doors to Automatic]

Herod - do you still have your log book? I would be interested to know the date of this storm. I wouldn't mind betting it was 24th June, 1994. An absolute whopper by all accounts, especially in the Essex area.

[cavuman1]

Our family was enjoying a summer vacation at Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1959. [We would spend two weeks there every summer until the area became overrun with tourons (tourist + moron = touron).] Significant cumulus castellanus with black undersides were brewing on the horizon and my Navy veteran father gave the order to abandon the beach and head for our cottage. Just as we had collected our beach towels, books, radio, beach umbrella, rafts, and coolers, there was a multi-million candlepower flash and an huge explosion. We were knocked to the ground. :eek: As we shook our heads, slowly and dizzily stood, we realized that a bolt of lightning had struck not ten feet from where we had been "catching rays"! The immense heat of the stroke had formed a glass-like bowl about two feet in diameter as well as hundreds of fulgurite tubes. Had I realized their value, I should have saved a few, though I still have paroxysmal tinnitus to remind me of the event.

Dad had brought some of his golf clubs, including his 1-iron, to the beach to practice sand play that day. After our dance with Death, Dad exclaimed: "Even God can't hit a 1-iron!" Thank Zeus! :D

If only He could have hit a few hundred-thousand of the tourons with accurately guided electrical charges, Virginia Beach would have remained a subtropical paradise; instead it became the world's largest and most congested resort... :E

- Ed

[megan]

Does anyone have an explanation for the green sky Would like to know as well. About '63 not too long after gaining PPL departed Parafield (Adelaide) in a 172 for home 150 miles to the north. A front was moving in from the west and below the dark cloud was a very green green. Remembered also for the fact that we flew most of the trip with the power at idle, airspeed near Vne and fuel continually streaming from the vent behind the left strut (departed full tanks), remarkably the ride was as smooth as.

[mary meagher]

Departing Norfolk Virginia after dark, in a rented aircraft, intending to stop at Baltimore. All went smoothly, following the lights on the western Chesapeake. I was starting the descent, when a flashing black cloud got in the way... don't remember making a conscious decision at all, but our Cessna banked sharply and scuttled back to Norfolk! Good move, we spent the next day (Thanksgiving, a US holiday) in the pilot's lounge watching the American football; another family with a bigger airplane tried to fly to Long Island and came back to Norfolk after attempting to land in 3 places up North. They looked like refugees when they returned!

We headed North the next day, and no problems at all.

[Doors to Automatic]

Looks like another storm about to hit London.

[Turbine D]

From EarthSky:
Experts don’t agree on why the sky changes color before a tornado or severe thunderstorm. At least two theories suggest what might be the reason for the strange greenish-yellow color that (sometimes) precedes a storm.

Theory #1. Because air molecules scatter light. To understand this first theory, try picturing mountains in the distance, which often look a deepening blue. That blue color stems from the scattering of light by air molecules. The same reason, scattered light, causes the sky to look blue. Now remember that the strongest storms tend to happen late in the day. Some experts think that, before a thunderstorm, golden-reddish light from a sun low in the sky – and a natural bluing effect of the air – combine to create a green sky. The storm provides a dark backdrop and offsets this greenish or yellowish hue.

Theory #2. Because water is intrinsically blue. A different meteorological theory holds that storm clouds themselves may help make the color of the sky bluish-green. To understand this theory, you first need to know that water is intrinsically blue (sometimes you can see the bluish tint of water in a white bathtub). It could be that the storm clouds — which are filled with water — provide the color blue, which, again, is illuminated by the golden light of a low sun to create the color green.

To sum up, the reason for green skies before a storm isn’t entirely known. But it is known that a greenish-yellow sky before a storm is common in some parts of the world, while totally absent in others.

I remember being in the basement of our home 10 years ago in the early morning (6:30am) as a tornado passed by 2 blocks away. Indeed, the sky turned very green as could be seen from one of our basement windows...