I feel utterly ridiculous admitting this, but I'm really scared of the storm

[Sayithowiseeit]

I have no idea why, I've never been scared of storms before and actually enjoyed them.

But tonight im really scared. And I feel ridiculous for it. What's wrong with me? How long will it go on for? How can I tell when its stopping? Is there an app I can use to see when we're over the worst?

Not tornados in the way that the US does. Ours are usually very small and often pass by without anyone noticing them. They're not comparable really.

Even the very rare major tornados here aren't on the same scale - and the last one was 20 years ago.

I hope the wedding is fabulous and the weather is great! The storm is washing away the pollution temporarily, so the morning should be clean smelling.

We love storms here and run to the garage with the door up to watch the lightening.

Weird story: Once my MIL called during a storm to tell us we had won $225 in a raffle. I was so excited because $$ was tight. As she talked, there was a terrible noise and flash. Lightening had just hit our house. It took out our garage door opener and the electric circuit for it. Cost of repair: $250. NOW it's funny. Thirty-five years ago--not so much.

I used to love to sit out watching a storm - imagine porch roof over comfy chairs... Well, a few years ago I ran in - woah that was a bit close (!)!!! It turns out a house about half a mile away was struck and caught fire!
Omg sorry @Sayithowiseeit that was a few years ago. I'm still in awe. 2 kids from our school were actually struck by lightening in a park as they were trying to get home! All fine, but blummin eck.
That's not helping either.

Okay a heartwarming story... It's true and it's my story...

Once upon a time there was a young single mother who moved from a Midlands city and found herself lucky enough to be able to rent a little detached bungalow overlooking fields in a tiny village many miles south. She moved in with her 1 year old.
Having moved from the city she hated the old local dog walkers coming up and peering in her windows like she was from the circus. One even brought his wife - there he is, there's the boy! I told you, look, he's walking!

I'm more of a fuck off and do one type of lady, but being alone and 21 and not having a clue what was going on, I just went with it.

Occasionally the owner of the fields would drive up, and they'd often camp on a sunny weekend. He said he's got some horses down in the field, would I like to bring my son down to see them. Son was probably 3 by then.
We wandered down, did the stroke the nose eek - don't like it! Owners wife gave us some lemonade and some biscuits.
Owner told son that this mare was in foal and going to have a baby horse. We went down a few times...

AND then - the worst storm I'd seen for years took hold. I knew landowner was in and out.
Still chucking it down, about 10 pm - a knock on the door. The foal was born and did my son want to name him?
Err well, he's in bed but I'll fetch him.
Man explained new baby horse what would you like to call him?
My son pointed to the sky and said Storm!

And so for a few years we got to watch Storm grow up. Son would go down with man and his wife.

It was only after leaving the village that someone said yes that's Mr
... They're the... Family. You see all those lorries out and about, they're theirs. They're millionaires!!

I had no idea. And whilst most of the village gossiped about this young single Mum, on benefits, trying to find her way with her baby - the kindest people were blummin millionaires ❤️ I contacted Mr, via his company a few years after we'd moved out. Son was 10 - he never forgot and we were invited back over to see Storm.

The kindness of strangers

And a heartwarming STORM story.

(or one big long yawn, because I'm just rambling)

@AnnoyedAsAllHeck all this rain will wash the dust out of the air and leave the photographs particularly clear and sharp.

Big wasn’t it? I’m pretty brave but the lightening was alarming.

Well I’m in the south east I’ve just woken up I must have slept through it!

Huh! I feel cheated. I love a good rattler of a storm but all we got here in SE London was rain.

OP I get really scared during thunder and lightning storms too. I get terrified of the house being struck by lightning and catching fire, or the tree behind our house getting struck and falling onto our house! So don’t feel silly for posting. Hope you got some sleep once it settled down.

I wonder if it’d triggering you. Almost reminding you of war op.

I'm in the South East and we didn't even get rain. I looked at about 3 different weather maps and it missed us on each one. I was sat there all evening looking at the sky thinking "is it coming" and nothing!

Love a good storm and the garden could do with the rain.

This is one reason why sensationalist news is a problem. The media whips up a Really Terrible Storm, telling us it’s going to be an apocalypse, climate change, lighting the touch paper for burning the world to a crisp, etc.

Did this storm have a name, by the way? Was it storm Jemima, or storm Tarquin? I avoid news, so I haven’t seen.

I'm in East Kent and slept right through it. Woke up early to a beautiful day, went outside to deal with the cast-iron gas-stove-top thingummy that had been sitting coated in de-filthifier overnight and discovered that it was now sitting in 6cm of water (I measured). So I assume it rained?

I was watching that far SE England storm on lightning maps. If I was under it I'd have been panicking too. It looked intense.

I am right down in the south east and had to drive home in the storm.... It was terrifying. The rain was sheeting down so hard I could barely see and constant lightening. When we got home we rushed to the house and were soaked to the skin despite being outside for less than 10 seconds! Crazy weather.

Probably asleep now but hopefully you made it through ok. ?

It's funny that you mentioned a smell. I closed my window just before the storm because of that smell.

Sometimes a drop in pressure gives me anxiety or a headache. I've seen it happen to another woman before a storm too so it could be this.

I get it. I’m not generally a superstitious person, but I be am a bit about weather. There’s so often a correlation. E.g. I remember we had 3 nights of electrical storms immediately before the Queen died.

Totally agree. Look at this detail to the Met Office warning. If all of those things are 'small' or 'slight' chance I'd argue we really don't need to be hearing so much about them.

Above should have quoted Hedda.

they made such a big deal about it,
we had barely any rain south east
quite a lot of lightning 10 pm last night.

In the midlands and don’t think we had anything unless I slept through it!

In particularly bad storms through the night, I like to remind myself that if it’s keeping me awake, my neighbours are likely to be awake too. It makes me feel a bit less alone and therefore less nervy x

I hope you eventually got some sleep.
I’m in Suffolk too and we got a bit of rain and some long, but distant, rumbles of thunder. I didn’t see any lightning. It wasn’t bad enough to keep me awake.
I normally love storms; there seems to be a sort of energy which accompanies them.
I do feel for people who are scared though.

Yes, I always get a headache when a storm is coming in. Had one all yesterday afternoon.

I didn’t realise it was meant to be a big thing.

We had rain, thunder and lightning. It was fine