A Few Bolts From Slieve Gallion Last year

[martinastro]

I was messing around with 'imagegrab' software and decided to try it out on some video fooatge I took during a storm chase on July 16th 2007 from the very top of Slieve Gallion Mountain. Managed to grab this big c-g from the retreating storm and another showing three c-gs in a group.

[Steveo74]

Great grabs Martin!!! 

[Paul]

Martin I remember pulling the still frames out that video when you put it on Youtube but those are way better taken from the original!

P.

[martinastro]

Thanks very much for the comments Steven and Paul. I remember that very well Paul, I didn't know how to manage the original file at the time but I sent over the youtube version and you extracted that c-g for me which was great!. I thought you would recognise that one 

[Roman White]

Great images, Martin.  Is that a rain curtain to the left and to the right of the lightning?

[martinastro]

Thanks Roman. Yes, it was a curtain of intense rain and hail stones. The c-gs where within the curtain.

[Roman White]

Yes, it was a curtain of intense rain and hail stones.

It looks amazing. I'll never forget that morning (2007 Apr.21) when I got trapped in one like that on your photo. Had no camera with me then, but I remember a lot of details even now. I don't remember, have I told about it before or not. I think I need to share my impressions.

Morning of 2007 Apr. 21 in Poltava. +8C and clear. At near 9AM I caught a bus and went 10km away west from Poltava. While approaching to Abazivka village (where my family's cottege is situated), I saw a large amount of clouds heading from west.
Then, at near 9:30 AM I was walking along the country road, and ... there it begun.
  A powerful wind gust, and a shower started suddenly. Within next minute or two the spring suddently turned into winter. Very intense hail started, becoming even more intense within next 10min. Ground was white (so much hail falled). Next an intense hail changed by a moderate-power sleet, which changed into a wet snow very soon. Temperature dropped to 0C. In a few hours later the wet snow changed by a rain and stopped. And in the afternoon the temp. rised to +10C and even some clearances in the sky arrived.
It was a wonder because the winter ended on Mar.01 that year. And there is a snow in a middle of spring! Another wet snow&sleet arrived on May.01-02, but without any storms, and minimal temperature reached +1C, very cold for May. It was very unstable weather in 2007 spring.
2008 spring was much more stable and usual.

[brianb]

And there is a snow in a middle of spring!

It happens ... I can remember the day I lfinished university - June 5th 1975 - there was snow on the ground at Coleraine, and still some unmelted on the roadside at lunchtime. It's unusual enough in the middle of winter! On this particular occasion there was a strong North wind bringing in arctic air carrying wintry showers.

[martinastro]

Thanks for sharing the weather reports Roman and Brian. - June! - that's very strange 

I checked through my observing log book and found an interesting entry from many years ago. Apparently it snowed over my area during May!. I have never seen that before. Hail on the other hand can appear at anytime of the year associated with convective showers and thunderstorms. Any cell with a strong updraught can produce hail. The biggest hail I have seen from my location happened this year during late April from a brief t-storm. The hail was like big marbles and made an incredible sound when they hit the roof of the house. It turned the ground white and lasted for 20 mins. Here's the cell/storm which caused it.

[Roman White]

(...) June 5th 1975 - there was snow on the ground (...)

I would run away to Africa if I will see snow in summer (Jun-Aug)! 

Martin, great photo. What was the hail size on that day?

[martinastro]

Thanks Roman. That t-storm produced marble sized hail mixed with frozen pea size. Quite substantial for Ireland. In other countries base ball sized hail destroys crops and kills animals and humans. American, parts of Europe, and Australia.