Storm risk?

At the moment we have some heavy, thundery, downpours forecast for Tuesday. As a precaution, I have disconnected all antennas, the PSU and the PC. Only if things improve will I reconnect things tomorrow. Tomorrow might be a quiet radio day!

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en

Storms stop play

We have quite nearby storms. According to the gap between the lightning and the thunder, it is about 2 miles away (5 seconds a mile). I have disconnected antennas, rigs, and PSU.

UPDATE 1452z: All quiet again. Have the storms passed? Everything reconnected.

Thunder risk

We have a Met Office warning for possible thunderstorms later. At the moment I am on 6m FT8.

See https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?id=09df0131-989b-4f56-98fa-b14775c4344e&date=2019-08-14

Thunder and Lightning

At the moment we have thunder and lightning, so everything in the shack has been disconnected for now.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=uk

Low thunder risk here

At the moment the Met Office weather forecast is showing no thunderstorms hereabouts today. I shall probably reconnect my shack PC and antennas shortly.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en

Thunder risks

Over the next few days it is expected to get very hot in the UK. So hot that records could well be broken. With this can be a risk of thunderstorms, so I am QRT at the moment "just in case". The risks may be low, but I tend to disconnect antennas and power plugs.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/?lang=en#m=oss;t=2;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;y=43.5804;x=3.999;z=5;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;

Storm risks

It is just starting to rain and we have thunder forecast for the end of the night. Later, all antennas and mains leads in the shack will be disconnected. At the moment the nearest storms are hundreds of miles away. By the end of the night it could be quite different here.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en

Rough night ahead?

Until now, we have been storm free here today, but in the last few hours it has been raining and there are thunderstorms to the east and approaching across the English Channel. At the moment it is hard to know what we face by the end of the night. As a precaution, all antennas and mains plugs in the shack have been unplugged.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=6

Storms?

We have thunderstorms forecast for later. At the moment the nearest storm is about 150 miles away. If they get close my normal routine is to disconnect everything including the mains plugs "just in case".

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=6

UPDATE 1315z: In the UK the thunderstorms seem to have fizzled out. They were supposed to be moving up from Iberia, but no signs even there. Maybe later?

Storms moving our way?

At the moment we are storm free, but it looks like there are storms moving up from the west of the UK. They may miss us by miles, but I have turned things off and unplugged things as a precaution.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=6

Lightning maps

Periodically I take a look at the lightning maps to see how near storms are. At the moment they are well away.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en

Storms?

As usual, I get quite nervous when there are storms about, ever since a work colleague who lived in a very ordinary house, not too high, in the middle of a housing estate had his house hit doing huge damage. Whenever there are storms in the area, I disconnect rigs, PC, PSU and antennas "just in case". Consulting the thunder maps a short while ago suggested the storms were moving away, but I shall disconnect if there is any chance.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=uk&bo_period=2&lang=en

Storms

At the moment it is windy and rainy here. At one point, I thought (wrongly) I had seen lightning. I was thinking about disconnecting my rigs and antennas, then checked the lightning map. It looks like the nearest storm is in the Mediterranean, so I think things can remain connected.

UPDATE  0953z: Now blue skies and sunshine!

No storms?

Looking at the lightning maps, it looks like we are in for a quiet day. The nearest storms are miles away. It is not too hot, but likely to remain dry.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=6
See https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/u121rkr90#?date=2018-08-17

Temporary QRT

We had storms quite close (2 miles), so I went QRT on all bands.

As the storms seem to have moved on, everything is now reconnected (6m FT8 RX and 10m WSPR TX). On 6m I am getting Es from Italy although it usually takes 20 minutes for things to settle on my 10m WSPR beacon.

We need the rain, so I am not complaining.

Storms

At the moment I still have my 10m antenna (looking on 10m FT8 RX) connected as the storms seem to be avoiding us. I always keep an eye out and check the storm maps often.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=2;s=200;o=0;b=0.00;ts=0;z=9;y=52.1402;x=0.2554;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;

Perseid meteor shower and storm risks

This weekend I hope to keep a watch on 6m FT8 RX for possible Perseid meteor shower action. Although there is a risk of thunder showers later, I do not yet know what it will be like Saturday overnight into Sunday.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en

Storms? 2m UKAC OK?

As you know, I keep a close watch on storms and disconnect everything if there is a threat nearby. At the moment most of the storms seem to be over northern Brittany and just north of Paris. They are many hours away and we may miss them altogether.

Tonight is the August 2m leg of the activity contest (UKAC) organised by the RSGB. Assuming there is no storm threat, I'll put in an appearance for 30 minutes or so starting around 1900z on SSB. If there are storms nearby, I'll give it a miss. Last month, conditions were very good.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=2;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;

UPDATE  1849z: The storms have crossed the channel and seem to be approaching Kent. At the moment, I think we should miss most of the storms, at least until late tonight.

UPDATE 1957z: 6 SSB contacts in the 2m UKAC, with best DX 229km.  Not bad for 5W, big-wheel omni, useless voice and just 37 minutes of operating.

Storms

Whilst in north Norfolk, we had a very violent thunderstorm in the early hours. Apparently there was one here in Burwell too this morning, along with a brief power cut. More storms are due overnight.

A good place to look is https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en. This map can be placed anywhere in the world and zoomed in. Very useful to see how close the risk is. At the moment, I look OK to remain on until at least 1600z.

Storms getting closer to the UK

It looks more likely that the storms from Iberia will hit the UK tonight or tomorrow. As a precaution, everything has been disconnected: rigs, PSUs and antennas.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en