>Record Cold, Snow, Wind, Torrential Rain, Thunder, Lightning, Hail And Tornadoes Bring Wild Holiday Weekend To UK

Written by Mark Vogan on May 8, 2012 in Rest of Europe with 0 Comments

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Record Cold, Snow, Wind, Torrential Rain, Thunder, Lightning, Hail And Tornadoes Bring Wild Holiday Weekend To UK

In a spin: What appears to be the beginnings of a tornado form in the skies over South Leigh, Oxfordshire yesterday afternoon (Daily Mail)

During the bank holiday weekend, the UK and Ireland has practically seen every kind of wild weather one could think of. Saturday and Sunday brought record cold to Ayrshire while snow covered the ground over multiple areas of Scotland and not just to high ground either.

Take cover! Residents in Witney, Oxfordshire, filmed as large hailstones clattered off rooftops and cars, blanketing the street within moments (Daily Mail)

Then came bank holiday Monday and we certainly didn’t have a quiet day as a potent cold front swept across England. As it moved west to east, storm cells intensified as warm, moist air flowed north from France while cool air flowed out of the northwest on the backside of the low which crossed Scotland.

The collision between cool air which kept much of Scotland below 10C, meeting the warm, humid air flowing north where temps read the mid teens across southern and Midland England brought the perfect convergence for thunderstorm development. These competing air masses which don’t mix well energized the individual cells firing along the front bringing strong gusty winds, torrential downpours, thunder, lightning and dramatic hailstorms.

Snowy A826 between Aberfeldy and Creiff in Perthshire on Sunday morning (Hugh Lawson)

What made these cells more impressive was the fact they were literally turning severe over parts of Oxfordshire as damaging winds, large hail and torrents of rain came down at the same point winds were converging at the surface and with very cold air aloft, producing what is known as ‘high lapse rate’ intensified the rate of upward motion. This produced explosive cells. Southeasterly surface winds and north to northwesterly winds in the mid and upper levels forced these explosive cells to start turning. Once you’ve got this perfect environment in place along with rotation, one must be concerned about possible funnel clouds forming and this indeed occured.

Heavy rains make for poor driving conditions on M8 in Glasgow on Sunday (Mark Vogan)

At least one tornado formed and produced some minor damage near Kidlington, Oxfordshire and I have a few great videos below capturing cloud rotation, the tornado itself and and pounding hail.

Amazing Video Capturing Yesterday’s Wild Weather!