Map showing lightning strikes 2019-07-23...24. © Lightningmaps.org, OpenStreetMap.com
Here in the upper Wye valley, we don't get many thunderstorms, and those which do come our way tend to peter out as they drift over the surrounding hills. This one was more interesting than most. The majority of the the lightning was striking the high points in the Cambrian hills just to the West, or cloud-cloud, all at least 5-10km distant, and lit up the whole sky rather than being visible as distinct forks.
Once I'd set up my microphones, I recorded about 40 minutes as the storm passed over. I've removed a few less interesting sections and some extraneous noise, and the resulting 20 minutes is presented here. Be careful with headphones as the thunder claps contain a lot of low frequency content going down to 10Hz or so. The opening thunder rumble gives some idea of the peak sound level to be expected, (which is approx 95dBSPL if you want to replay at realistic levels!)
After the initial rolls of thunder, at around 4 minutes the wind picks up and a steady rain begins to fall. The storm slowly drifts up the valley, though is never directly overhead, each strike sending out shock waves which repeatedly rebound from the surrounding hills with a characteristic roar. Once the storm passes over, the rain slackens off and we are left in the cool night air with the sounds of just a gentle breeze, dripping foliage and the calls of a distant Tawny Owl.
Recorded: 2019-07-23...24, around midnight
Location: 52.239,-3.475
Download full length recording:
20min, 32MB, .ogg format
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