Dramatic photographs capture Stoke-on-Trent’s spectacular thunderstorm
Dramatic photographs captured Thursday night's spectacular thunderstorm over Stoke-on-Trent, as frequent lightning lit up the sky across the city. But with more unsettled weather and a further risk of thunder forecast, last night's display may not be the last.
Stoke-on-Trent was treated to a spectacular display of lightning on Thursday night as thunderstorms moved across the area, lighting up the skies over the city.
Residents reported seeing almost continuous flashes at times, with the storm particularly noticeable at around 9.30pm and continuing for around half an hour or more in some parts of the area. The frequent flashes were captured in a number of dramatic photographs, showing the sky repeatedly lighting up over Stoke-on-Trent.
Some of the display was what is known as sheet lightning – lightning occurring within or between clouds rather than necessarily striking the ground. That can produce repeated flashes across the entire sky, sometimes with little or no thunder reaching the ground.
The storm came as Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent were covered by a Met Office yellow thunderstorm warning, with forecasters warning of heavy downpours, frequent lightning and the possibility of hail.
While there is no reliable published figure for the number of individual lightning strikes directly over Stoke-on-Trent, the wider storm system produced a large number of lightning detections across the region, with the Met Office's radar system tracking lightning activity as the storms moved through.
And the unsettled weather isn't finished yet.
The Met Office forecast for the Stoke-on-Trent area warns that Friday could again bring showers, with a risk of further thunder and possible hail. The outlook for the bank holiday weekend also remains unsettled, with showers and the possibility of more thunder before conditions become fresher later in the weekend.
So, if you thought last night's lightning show was impressive, it may not be the last time residents of the Six Towns look up to find the sky flashing.
Six Towns Daily where sent some fantastic photos, and we will be picking a winner of the photo competition in the coming days on our Facebook page.
