Date: 12-06-2006
Time: 07:18 BST
Location: Macclesfield, Cheshire UK
Type: Frontal Multicell
Documented by: Mark Seltzer
Equipment: Samsung VP-H65 Video Camera
Fujifilm FinePix A310 Digital Camera
Footage Quality: VHS, DIGI

Storm Statistics: T0060.doc
Event Timeline: T0060events.xls

An elongated waving cold front draped over the British Isles from north to south and into the continent mad many waves on it, each holding a small pocket of Spanish Plume air. At 6am BST it started to march its upper trough (ahead of the surface cold front) into the humid temperatures, in which the dry-bulb was already at 21C, and therefore destabilising the air.

A few pockets of activity therefore ran NNW along just ahead of the surface front. One of these made a direct hit on Macclesfield at 7:15am BST. I was asleep, but luckily the high-amp C-G the leading-edge was producing woke me up just before it went overhead. It was incredibly difficult to film initially as the storm was head-on and the rain was torrential, blowing into the room through the window and gave the camera a soaking. After capturing a C-G I had to give up and point the camera northwards before I broke it. It turned out lucky though as the C-G strikes followed my camera rather than the reverse situation.

Later I sent the first image of C-G into the BBC and Diane Oxberry later showed it on Northwest Tonight.