Bernard,

Similar storm here in Three Mile Cross. Plenty of thunder but without quite
the amount of rain you have just had and the same sharp ending as it moved
north. I have just heard that parts of The Holt School have been flooded
quite badly and this will be largely due to run off from the flat roof of
one of the blocks which the drains could not cope with. I would be very
interested to hear what the rainfall total was for this storm and also the
rainfall rate as I will probably be talking to the Insurance company
tomorrow!

The last time this happened was on a Friday night in 1994 some time around
June when there was another torrential downpour and the same parts of the
school were flooded. If you do happen to recall that storm and have
rainfall figures for it I would be very interested in a comparison with
tonight's event.

Regards

Steve Thomas




"Bernard Burton" wrote in message
...
Severe thunderstorm, Wokingham,1723z to .... moving away to north now,
still
the odd rumble heard.
At its height there were between 15 and 30 flashes per minute, and several
CG very close.
Rain was torrential 1813z to 1825z, with vis reduced to 600m. Local roads
are awash,
and I wonder how people are coping on the nearby M4.The end of the storm
was
quite dramatic, with the rain suddenly easing, allowing the vis to rise to
over 5km in a matter of seconds, revealing a cloud edge and blue sky to
the
SW.
As the storm approached I switched off and disconnected all PCs and
unplugged leads to the roof. The ultra-sonic anemometer was the only
instrument to be kept going, and it semes to have come through unscathed.
I am in the process of powering up again, but all equipment seems to be
working.
No thunder heard for 10 mins now, 1850z.
--
Bernard Burton
Wokingham, Berkshire, UK.

Satellite images at:
www.woksat.info/wwp.html
or
www.btinternet.com/~wokingham.weather/wwp.html