thunder (pesky weather)

[Kerry]

yes, just as i'm about to start on the garden- big flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder. followed of course, by a downpour.
one cat and myself sought shelter in the greenhouse. at least yesterdays plantings are being watered in .
so-gardening on A4A now.
anyone else had thunderstorms yet?

[caz 406]

No thunder as yet but it's persisting down here and gone quite dark....

[honeybee]

It went from a bright sunny day to rain just as i got my lawnmower out...Grrrrr
So that job will have to go onto tomorrows list now.

[eileen]

Supposed to be coming our way tomorrow Kerry so trying to get things done in between heavy bouts of rain today. Ah the joys of British weather. 

[maz]

Yes we had thunder and lightning here. The rain was torrential but everything smelled so lovely afterwards.

I had just finished all my work in the garden and it started.  I'd just filled the ponds up to. 

[Dirkdigger]

Had it all in Somerset, hail included. Went so dark seemed like the end of the world had come upon us.

[tim]

We were warned - this is just the tail end of it. But only 5mm of rain today.

[kitty]

now that map i understand!
thunder like the end of the world here too-then a huuuuge downpour-good for the garden-at least at this timeof the year 'weather' is short lived...
for all its weather foibles i still wouldnt want to live anywhere else

[Robert_Brenchley]

We had a good hour of heavy rain with off rolls of thunder just after I got to my plot. Thunder down there always makes me a bit apprehensive; my first summer on the site we had a long series of massive thunderstorms, inluding what the Council described as a '100-year event' with a tornado a couple of miles away. My plot was flooded four times, and since it slopes away from the stream (which is an old mill leat not the natural bed) the water stood for about three days each time before it finally drained away. The soil turned to a quagmire, there were times when I couldn't step off the paths even in wellies, and plants which were standing upright one day would be lying on their sides the next.

[maz]

Well according to that map Merseyside isnt having any weather,     but I can assure you wild horses would not have dragged me out in what we had. 

[Derek]

I managed to get some light work done yesterday, mostly greenhouse, before the storm in the afternoon

My first time down the lottie since my recent operation and boy was it good to be there. I was driven there curtesy of another plotholder and found that my neighbours have looked after things very well.
I had ten containers in the greenhouse all set up for peppers and I now I find have tomatoes planted in them.  A very kind neighbour thought he/she was doing me a favour....a bit of very discrete moving is now required methinks.

Derek

[tim]

No, Maz - you can have weather without thunder!

Another 5mm last night, so that's 10 for the day. Most welcome.

Luckily, I can nip out between showers.

[return of the mac]

How can you complain about thunder? Great stuff gets nitrogen into the soil. Send some up here please

[Kerry]

i remember reading a bob flowerdew article in KG magazine about the good that rain, as opposed to watering from a can, does-particularly rain after a thunderstorm- something to do with ions? 
i think i remember him suggesting that plants benefit from the exchange of air in the soil following a downpour. (perhaps someone more technically gifted can explain better!)
certainly it smells good.

mac: will send some your way then, if it returns today! cannot make up its mind at the minute-dark then sun, still threatening

[return of the mac]

Thanks to standard grade chemistry i can explain for you kerry. 
Air is composed of 80% nitrogen, and when lightning strikes, it creates enough heat energy to release an amount of nitrogen as nitric acid, which the rain absorbs and dilutes, rain falls on ground, ground is fertilised, gardeners are happy and say- "send me thunder now please" to other gardeners on forums
So could you?

[maz]

Tim, I meant there was nothing on the map but we did indeed have thunder and lots of it.

Oh well, It gave me a chance to read my new pond book. 

[kitty]

return of the mac-thats a very silly avatar you have there.i'm glad to say!

thunder and lightening?
dont talk to me about thunder and lightening i was blown 10 feet sideways by a lightening bolt landing outside our shop about 11 years ago-landed very comfortably on 3 ton of bagged clay..oh was..ahem!'busy' in the powder room-which was just as well really-saved a lot of emergency washing
the noise!-(i mean from the lightening )had to be heard to be beleived-
i spose it was either us or the cathedral 100 yards down the lane..of course-they had god on their side so we got it!
used to like a good electrical storm..now i'm a bit more wary..

[ACE]

Not bad down here, but spare a thought for a lot of my mates who were riding their harleys from Lands end to John o Groats passing a baton at regular intervals in a Ride for Life collecting for charity. Hail, thunder, whirlwinds,monsoons and strong winds. They finish tonight at about 7.00 Great lads, and lassies.

[tim]

1. Rain. Isn't it amazing - its effect as opposed to watering? Almost immediate.

2. Mersey Maz. Sorry you weren't on the map! I'll have a word with the team!

3. Ride for Life. At least the Harley is built to stand punishment? And of course, you lent one of them your hat??

[Dirkdigger]

Taken about 3 minutes ago from my bedroom window. Sorry about quality grab shot.