The perfect storm?

We were warned to expect the worst. However, the storm that stroke Bristol this morning was less severe than forecasted. Media has over-reacted by comparing this storm to the ferocious St Jude, the "Great Storm" in 1987 (more info about St Jude). Even the summer thunderstorm was bigger!

After a couple of days of strong wind, the so-called "storm of the decade" arrived to Bristol during the night, bringing heavy showers and winds of up to 60mph, which shoud have arrived to the North Sea by now.  It rained non-stop since last night, but there have been minimal disruptions in the city in terms of damage and flooding. Ironically, the sun is shinning now.

Bristol Airport just posted on their website that "the majority of flights are operating as normal" but is warning passengers to check their flights in order to make sure they are not delayed or cancelled. First Great Western posted on their website that "services are being affected by poor weather conditions" and disruption details can be consulted here. National Express also keeps a live update on their services on Twitter (here). On the road, Severn Bridges and M48 suspension bridge were closed to traffic since last night, yet most of the roads have been reopened.

They say that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", but this time news have alarmed Bristol about a storm that bypassed Bristol after all.

Image source: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/UK-storm-Bristol-commuters-warned-expect-worst/story-19994543-detail/story.html

One hell of a thunderstorm

The sound of the rain against the windowpane woke me up last night. It has been long since it didn't rain as heavily in Bristol and the massive thunderstorm last night was quite scary. I found myself hidding below the duvet and counting between lightning and thunder, as I used to do when I was younger. 1, 2, 3, 4... 5! One mile away! Relief. One of them, however, striked very close as we heard a huge "booom" right after the thunder, followed by several alarms that went off. The lightning strike left us without water supply for the day.

The weather lately has been too sunny, hot and humid, and it's been a week since it seemed a gale would hit Bristol. According to BBC, next weeks will be messy. They don't forecast rain again until Thursday, and apparently the weekend will be free of rain too. The temperatures will stay quite the same, though, around 25ºC. 

After 5-6 weeks of summery weather, "A little fall of rain can hardly hurt us now", as said in Les Miserables.