The weather has continued to be colder than usual in NW England, particularly the wind. Down south in London they had hail - though nothing compared to that abroad. People are starting to take notice of the quirky weather... and, i'd say, lightning is rare enough in the UK that this strike is an odd weather event (edit: if it is lightning).
Lightning strike sets house on fire as London hit by thunderstorms and freak weather
Strike: Firefighters tackling the blaze in north west London (Pictures: Vicky Bull/Karen MacLean)
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_http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/freak-lightning-strike-sets-house-on-fire-in-northwest-london-10261345.html
Sebastian Mann
Published: 19 May 2015
Updated: 18:11, 19 May 2015
Firefighters this afternoon tackled a blaze thought to have been caused by a lightning strike as the capital was hit by freak weather.
The London Fire Brigade said it had received several calls to Norman Crescent in Pinner, where the entire roof of a semi-detached house was ablaze.
A spokeswoman said callers blamed the fire on a bolt of lightning but that was not confirmed. She added 21 firefighters and officers were tackling the blaze after being called just after 1.30pm. It was under control by 3.15pm.
Vicky Bull (@chafferty) described hearing a clap of thunder before flames engulfed a building 10 doors from her home.
"I didn't see any lightning - just heard one massive thunder clap and a few mins later saw smoke rolling past my window," she said.
It came as other parts of London were hit by thunderstorms and hail.
Forecasters this morning warned the region faced the possibility of rain, hail and thunderstorms amid sunny spells and a maximum temperature of 16C.
The Met Office added that hail and stormy conditions were expected to abate by tomorrow.
Added:
Wimbledon Groundsman
@AELTCGroundsman
Good job the mowing and marking was done this morning before the typical mid-May hail storm #iceicebaby