Thunderstorm - 7.15pm

My daughter had to be at work for seven o' clock this evening, so we left at the normal time - just as the sky turned dark and it began to rain. By the time we reached the car, it was coming down quite heavily. We set off and it got a bit heavier and continued getting heavier as we drove out of the village - including thunder and lightning. By the time we left the main road and got into the lane leading down to town, it was hammering down so fast that the wipers - even on their fastest setting - couldn't keep the windscreen clear.

It also got dark - not quite as dark as night, but not far off. By this time the run-off was covering the roads and we were driving through about half an inch of surface water interspersed with deeper puddles. It began to hail, just to add to things. As we got to the bottom of the hill and along by the school, the water was coming up through the manhole covers. We got through that and I dropped her off at work.

By this time, the rain had eased and driving was a bit easier. I got back into the lane outside the school and the water was gushing out of the manhole covers. One of them was fountaining up about two feet and this time, I was driving through a flood that came about halfway up the wheels.

After this it got easier and reaching the outskirs of the village, I parked in a small lay-by and took several pictures, including this one. After this, I went home and we had the worst thunder and lightning we've had for a couple of years. The lights kept going off and then coming on again - when we first moved in here, they wouldn't have come back on for a few hours. Things have improved!