Date: 07-06-1996
Time: 20:45 BST
Location: Macclesfield, Cheshire UK
Type: Frontal Multicell
Documented by: Mark Seltzer
Equipment: Audio tape recorder

Storm Statistics: T0002.doc
Event Timeline: T0002events.xls

T0002 consisted of several large active cells pulsating northwards along a thundery cold front. They occurred at night-time making them more spectacular and had a total duration of about 3 hours. I audio-taped the thunder and captured a few good ones including a couple of loud crashing thunders. The storms cleared the area at about midnight. Obviously I only audio-taped the peak of the activity when it got close, however after three hours of watching I then got bored of the distant discharges and went to bed. It was an excellent storm though which would have been a good one to film.

(right click and download mp3)
T0002 Thunder 1 (mp3)
T0002 Thunder 2 (mp3)

Looking at the Dundee satellite quick-looks the storms generated were a result of warm moist air being dragged up from the continent being lifted by an approaching secondary cold front wave from the west. Looking at the 02:15 IR image it is clear that there were large amounts of convective activity running in a line up the country, and possibly also in the North Sea. The difference in the IR signal can be seen behind and ahead of the front showing a strong temperature gradient. By this time a new "cut-off low" appears to have formed in the Bay of Biscay along the waving cold-front. This waving line of slow-moving but intense convection is the likely cause of such a succession of storms in the north-west region on this night.

DUNDEE SATELLITE IMAGES (CREDITS)
VISIBLE 07.06.1996 14:01
INFRARED 07.06.1996 14:01
COLOUR 07.06.1996 14:01

INFRARED 08.06.1996 02:15