Just looked at the weekend forecast for Sarasota after reading news about the shuttle's landing being delayed. Apparently they get this stuff in Florida called "rain" and "thunderstorms", and it's supposed to happen all weekend. Better bring your ponchos!

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USFL0446?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

The typical weather pattern for this time of year is to have the sea breezes kick up some heavy rains around 4:00 PM. They usually tail off by 6:00 PM.

48 hours ago we had the heaviest thunderstorm we have had for many years. Our local river, the Dour, burst it's banks and flooded part of the centre of the town, and I believe Folkestone was heavily flooded too. We must have had two inches of rain in a couple of hours and the storm drains could not cope as many of them were silted up.

Being the idiot that I am, I actually went out to try and photograph what I could, I got a few snaps before the batteries went. I literally had to wade in water that was almost a foot and a half in depth.

I made a little video, I apologise that it is dark, but it was 21:40 so there was not much I could do about that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TLhgFOZSh8

Earthquakes in April and floods in June, whatever next?

Phil, you really manage to convey WET in this video. The sound is fantastic!

Hope you're dry by now!

Nancy

Thanks Nancy - the thunderstorm was right overhead and was very violent - some of the lightning was even refracting different colours which is something I've not seen for years.

Yep, dried out completely now, thanks. Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day, it was as if nothing had ever happened. The only obvious trace was from a tidal mark of mud and weed left on some of the buildings where the river had burst its banks.

The damage in the SE of England is estimated to cost £5m to clean up and repair.

Oh, and yes that is my voice in the vid.


(Apologies that this has nothing to do with cephs. I won't make a habit of it.)

That looks like a typical summer afternoon in Florida. :wink:

U-Tube's "view something similar" suggestions showed that there was a similar flood in July of 2004 complete with hail stones but I am not sure that the water was as high.

... and as a note to our AZ friends, a small summer shower would do that to Pheonix.

Despite your weather forecast, I appear to have forgotten to bring my raincoat :oops:

...Tell Tony to pick up some garbage bags...one slit cut, and viola! Poncho!

The updated forecast says 0% chance of rain on Saturday and 10% chance on Sunday. The national weather service seems to be wrong about Sarasota as often as they are about Santa Barbara. As I liked to say up there, "if you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes."

...Tell Tony to pick up some garbage bags...one slit cut, and viola! Poncho!

Every time I try that, someone tosses me into the back of a garbage truck...

Hey, a free ride !

Phil, fantastic video, but standing outside in water with a metal video camera in your hands during a violent lightning storm might not have been the brightest thing you've ever done in your life. I'm glad you survived it! How deep was the water you were standing in? :snorkel:

Phil, fantastic video,

Thanks, sorry it was dark and shakey but it was absolutely hammering down and I was trying to hold the camera with one hand and the umbrella with the other in the wind. You can tell that the lens was getting blotted with rain before the end.

..but standing outside in water with a metal video camera in your hands during a violent lightning storm might not have been the brightest thing you've ever done in your life. I'm glad you survived it!

Actually it was a very silly thing to do. Of course being struck by lightning is something that happens to other people....FLASH! BZZZTT!!!...smoke.....


..How deep was the water you were standing in? :snorkel:

I went for a wander around town for some idiotic reason and was, at one point, wading almost up to the nether regions. I wish I had a picture or two of that but the batteries died on the camera. My legs were covered in pond weed and molluscs when I got home.

U-Tube's "view something similar" suggestions showed that there was a similar flood in July of 2004 complete with hail stones but I am not sure that the water was as high.


Oh yes, that video of 2004 was one of mine as well. The hailstones were amazing and I found one that was almost 3cm across. The view acoss the carpark was practically the same spot as last weeks video but facing the opposite direction.

We seem to be getting increasingly exreme weather in the last few years - hotter summers, milder winters and heavier storms. Coincidence, or is there a cause?

Me thinks there might be a cause.

The typical weather pattern for this time of year is to have the sea breezes kick up some heavy rains around 4:00 PM. They usually tail off by 6:00 PM.


"Typical" doesn't always hold true anymore. We haven't had a real Rainy Season in .. what, three years? Though the weather seems to be aaaaaallllmost normalizing, finally.

And, OMG THE CON IS IN SARASOTA?! Heh, I didn't realize yall came so close. I'm definitely going to have to show up for the next one!!