After a very grim Sunday and Monday in Southampton, "November with
leaves" sums it up, the rest of the week has shown a distinct
improvement of sorts here in western Cheshire. Despite a combination
of southwesterlies and a deep low, much more summer-like weather
occurred than the dishwater murk and intermittent bursts of moderate
to heavy rainfall that seems to usually characterise such situations.
It was certainly a good deal more seasonable than last Thursday and
Friday down south.

The front on Tuesday night seemed to pass by unnoticed, the only sign
being an isolated thundery shower moving north around 1900 and a brief
spell of slight rain an hour or so later. In contrast, Wednesday
brought several active storms from sharply defined and
aesthetically-pleasing cumulonimbus clouds. The nastiest one passed
just to the west around 1545, with literally-continuous though not
that loud (due to the distance) thunder in the background. For areas
west of here (Chester? Wrexham?) this must have been quite some
storm...

The next one though less active and less big a cloud passed overhead
around 1615 to 1630. After that one, a couple of other minor storm
clouds seemed to be developing in situ at its tail end, the final of
the two becoming noticeably bigger and more threatening as it moved
NE. All storms looked dramatic as they moved away, with dark bases
overtopped by well-defined anvils. All in all it was a more typically
northwesterly - or, ironically, humid tropical southeasterly - sky
than southwesterly. Were similar skies observed in other parts of the
country with the storms... I'm wondering whether this is a shadow
effect of the Welsh mountains?

Then followed two hours or so of sunny, warm weather to alleviate the
effects of a soaking, the temperature easily climbing the right side
of 20c (Manchester recorded 23). Finally two more well-defined storm
clouds - visible around 90 minutes in advance - passed just to the
east between 1830 and 1900. These were once again very active. All in
all I've never known such a tendency for every shower cloud to be
thundery. Again I wonder if this is a difference in climate in the
northwest compared to the south: I'm always hearing that this part of
the world gets thunder when the south gets none.

Today oddly showed very little activity, despite the low remaining
nearby. There seemed to be a brief spell of moderate rain in the
morning - an uncharted airmass boundary between the thundery air and
less thundery air?

Nick