Huge storms you've been caught up in

[Sussex Nomad]

Following on from the Crap BH Weather, what are the worst storms you've been caught up in?

Three for me come to mind. The first being the same as most and the 'hurricane' in October 87.

1984 on the Costa Brava (Lloret), where a cloudburst went on for about 20/30 minutes and totally flooded the place, cops in the street trying to get some traffic order with their trousers rolled up above their knees!

2001 South Carolina, a mental tropical style electrical storm, the rain almost hurt when it hit you and the lightning was hitting many wooden houses, most are built of wood in the deep south. Sirens, cops, fireman, ambulances all over the place, totally chaotic.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Have had humungous electrical storms just about everywhere, but the only one that really registers is waking up on the morning after the '87 UK hurricane in Brighton town, going in to see to my two year old baby boy, and there was the branch of a tree poking through his bedroom ceiling. Slept right through it, but that was MAYHEM. Just wish I'd taken more photos, because I doubt we'll see that like again around these parts anytime soon.

 

[SeagullTim]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_El_Reno_tornado

Was hiding in a basement of a bar. Everyone else seemed calm, I was not.

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

Nothing compared to anything you see in America but growing up in Australia I've seen a fair amount of storms that make the ones in England look a breeze.. Worst one I can remember was in 2010, about 160,000 homes lost power and I think I read it caused a billion dollars in damages.

 

[happypig]

2013 in Fethiye, Turkey. Never seen rain like it. Lightning hit the main electricity place and blew up a transformer, took out power for the whole area.

They had the electric back on in a few hours though. Say what you like about the Muslims but they are grafters.

 

[Ernest]

Most games at Withdean

 

[Thunder Bolt]

1981/2 (I can't remember the exact date) I was at a wedding with my inlaws. My ex was working abroad. As we left the church, the sky was completely black at 3pm. There was thunder and lightning directly overhead, and torrential rain. We did a mad dash to the car, and set off to the reception. There was then a cloudburst/flash flood. The water was up to the sills on the car. I had to drive at 10mph in second gear and edged my way through the floods for the next two or three miles. It was flowing like a river down the road.
An hour later, the sun was shining brilliantly again.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Driving into Disneyland Orlando on 1994 I have never seen rain fall like it. All the traffic stopped for 20 minutes. Luckily we were on a bit of a ramp, so the flood swept past us. Having said that, their drainag esystems were pretty effective.
Worst was here in 1987 when anyone waking up without some damage was lucky.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

Most games at Withdean

Ah, the Theatre of Wet Bums.

I remember it well.

 

[cheshunt seagull]

Minneapolis 1999, huge hailstones, tornado warnings and a lot of subsequent damage. We headed for the hotel basement bar and sat it out for the afternoon. Never seen any weather as extreme before or since.

 

[Weststander]

Caught in a three day blizzard in the Austrian resort of Obertauern one March. On the Wednesday morning the main road was clear of snow, but by Saturday it was two metres or more deep completely obscuring all cars. The resort left one small lift running so that legally no one was entitled to pass refunds, but in reality everyone stayed indoors.

 

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

Have some wonderful thunderstorms over here, a particularly lively one went off just yesterday.

 

[daveinprague]

The edge of Cyclone Tracy that flattened Darwin in 1974 on HMS Lowestoft. It was terrifying and pretty much killed our engine. We limped to Singapore and had to wait some considerable time for the engine to be replaced. Happy days. Singapore was one of my favourite places.

 

[Jack Straw]

A young JS clearing up after the hurricane in Brighton town centre gardens.
I was in charge of these gardens when the hurricane came in. You've never seen such devastation. My pride and joy ruined overnight. Not only did I assist in the clearing of all the fallen trees, I was also involved in the replanting of hundreds of new trees to replace them. Mainly all around the Level, North and South Victoria Gardens and St. Peters Church, both in the pavement and in the grass areas. When I see how these trees have grown and the size of them now, I realize that I am indeed, old!

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Was awoken at the peak of the hurricane of 87 by the terrible noise that my up and over garage door was making. It had broken loose and was banging incessantly. I was aware of the rain and wind lashing the windows but wasn't prepared for the strength of it when I got outside. I could barely walk against it. I had a small tree in the front garden and it was bending to ground level and whipping back up again. I noticed dark shapes in the lawn and didn't realise at the time that they were roof slates buried 4-6 inches in the ground. Managed to fix the garage door by piling copious amounts of bricks in front of it and struggled ( and I mean struggled ) back inside.
Had to leave for work early that morning and managed to get out of my town, before they sealed it off. Round the M25, there were overturned HGV,s like beached whales, every quarter/half mile. Driving into East London was amazing. No traffic lights were working. They were lying on their sides in balls of concrete. There were piles of rubble everywhere, burying lines of cars. Scaffolding hanging off buildings, with barely anything holding it on.
The following day, I saw complete fir plantations, every tree snapped in half like matchsticks. One in five mature trees in the South, came down. I doubt we will ever witness that again.

 

[brighton terra]

Koh Samui about 15 years ago. It hammmered it down for 10 minutes, after which we were knee-deep in water!

 

[Daffy Duck]

In Orlando one evening in '94 also, and never seen a lightning storm like it. Torrential rain flooding the roads & traffic just slowed to a stop. The lightning was a few miles north of us and constantly lighting up the sky. Pretty scary stuff.
But not as scary as a hailstorm we hit in South Dakota a few years ago. Hailstones the size of golf balls pounding the roof of our hire car so hard we had to pull over into a school bus yard & just sit it out. Thought they were going to come right through the roof and the noise was deafening.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

The lightening storm in Plymouth last night was the most dramatic I have seen in this country in my life.
See light show thread.

 

[e77]

Glastonbury in 2007. Was watching Seasick Steve on the Pyramid Stage when I realised I had been drinking the same pint of cider for two hours and it was tasting watery. Worked out it was because the rain was filling it quicker than I could drink it.

 

[Bob'n'weave]

Driving along from Ovingdean to Btn in a big old Peugeot Estate in a storm, 4 in the morning at 70mph, car getting blown across lanes, wipers going at full bast with no effect because the rain is lashing upwards off the cliffs and momentary losses of steering as wind lifted all the weight off the car in gusts of over 100+. Loved it!! Biblical weather is life affirming.