Hiya Martin.
Certainly for me regards that thundery weather I was watching the radar on several occassions watching some bright echos, however they always fizzled away just as they were about to 'hit' me. Apart from a few times when the clouds looked interestingly threatening (and nothing come of it) its all i've had. Shame really as its just been annoyingly wet and none descript of late here.
The cold weather next week should be interesting with many areas having some wintry precipitation. I may be wrong, but I think for me in the west midlands it is more likely to be on the wet side rather than the snowy side - or it will snow but just melt as soon as it lands
It would be nice to be wrong though and have one more proper, albeit brief, blast of winter - I could cope with a couple of days off work
Mark