Thunderstorm
I just witnessed the coolest storm I've ever seen.
Okay: my hometown is right on the english-welsh border. We're a seaside town, and we sometimes have storms coming up the bristol channel. It looks awesome because you see giant bolts of lightning hitting the water really close to your house.
This was something else entirely! I set off from my dad's house, and started walking along the coastal path to my mum's. I noticed the sky was a very inky blue-black over in the direction of my mum's (the marina), and worried about rain until I saw an almighty flash of lightning arcing down and hitting the water about half a mile from where I was standing. A couple of seconds later, a massive rumble.
So I set off. And the lightning bolts kept coming. Every 10 seconds, flash! It looked great, they were kind of golden-red in colour, lighting up everything. I noticed the storm was moving away from the channel and up to the marina- exactly where I was heading. Fearing for my life, I put my headphones on (hooking yourself up to metal is almost *too* obvious a way to get hit by lightning, so I assumed on that principle it wouldn't actually happen) and kept walking.
The lightning kept coming, increasing in frequency. By the time I got to the lake grounds, more and more people were coming out to look at it. Every 5 or so seconds there were lightning bolts cracking down from the storm. It looked amazing, I had the best vantage point next to the sea.
Having rushed ahead to dodge a group of about 10 chavs moving in the same direction, I started to panic. The storm seemed to be directly situated over the marina, and getting worse. I live in an apartment on the top floor of probably one of the tallest buildings in the area, so you can see why that'd be a bad thing.
The lightning kept increasing in frequency. By now there was a bolt every few seconds, and every time it stretched right across the sky. It was only a few hundred meters ahead of me (although obviously high up in the sky), and every time the bolts would stretch from one side of my peripheral vision to the other. It looked incredible, especially as the sky was this murky black (no rain- it was totally dry). Every time it lit up you could see everything around illuminated in blue and white.
There were loads of people out in the streets or on their balconies watching the storm. It was so big, and directly over us. By the time I got to my flat, there were bolts going off constantly.
This lasted for about an hour in total, and then eventually there was an incredible downpour of rain. It's been so hot here recently, so it was like all the water was stored up and let go at once. I opened my balcony door to look outside and instantly got drenched.
It was fantastic! I just wish I had photos to show you...
Okay: my hometown is right on the english-welsh border. We're a seaside town, and we sometimes have storms coming up the bristol channel. It looks awesome because you see giant bolts of lightning hitting the water really close to your house.
This was something else entirely! I set off from my dad's house, and started walking along the coastal path to my mum's. I noticed the sky was a very inky blue-black over in the direction of my mum's (the marina), and worried about rain until I saw an almighty flash of lightning arcing down and hitting the water about half a mile from where I was standing. A couple of seconds later, a massive rumble.
So I set off. And the lightning bolts kept coming. Every 10 seconds, flash! It looked great, they were kind of golden-red in colour, lighting up everything. I noticed the storm was moving away from the channel and up to the marina- exactly where I was heading. Fearing for my life, I put my headphones on (hooking yourself up to metal is almost *too* obvious a way to get hit by lightning, so I assumed on that principle it wouldn't actually happen) and kept walking.
The lightning kept coming, increasing in frequency. By the time I got to the lake grounds, more and more people were coming out to look at it. Every 5 or so seconds there were lightning bolts cracking down from the storm. It looked amazing, I had the best vantage point next to the sea.
Having rushed ahead to dodge a group of about 10 chavs moving in the same direction, I started to panic. The storm seemed to be directly situated over the marina, and getting worse. I live in an apartment on the top floor of probably one of the tallest buildings in the area, so you can see why that'd be a bad thing.
The lightning kept increasing in frequency. By now there was a bolt every few seconds, and every time it stretched right across the sky. It was only a few hundred meters ahead of me (although obviously high up in the sky), and every time the bolts would stretch from one side of my peripheral vision to the other. It looked incredible, especially as the sky was this murky black (no rain- it was totally dry). Every time it lit up you could see everything around illuminated in blue and white.
There were loads of people out in the streets or on their balconies watching the storm. It was so big, and directly over us. By the time I got to my flat, there were bolts going off constantly.
This lasted for about an hour in total, and then eventually there was an incredible downpour of rain. It's been so hot here recently, so it was like all the water was stored up and let go at once. I opened my balcony door to look outside and instantly got drenched.
It was fantastic! I just wish I had photos to show you...
Posted by Elation on Friday, May 09, 2008 03:28PM
- 2 comments
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