35:
299:
measured 184 millimetres (7.2 in) of rain over the 48 hour time period associated with the storms. Areas south and east of the squall line saw less severe storms, but the rain that fell in the night of 1–2 July 1968 was rich in
Saharan dust, turning it blood red and leaving dusty deposits on the
331:
Bradford saw severe flooding on 2 July, with many streets in the centre left underwater, as did the Isle of Man. The Met Office noted that many rivers across the West
Country and the Midlands burst their banks, and said that every town and village in Devon was flooded, with damage to property and
232:
in
Algeria saw a number of severe thunderstorms on 26–27 June. These appear to have blown a large quantity of Sahara dust into the atmosphere, where it was caught in a southerly wind in an atmospheric layer between 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and 17,000 feet (5,200 m) in altitude, forming a
215:
met cold, wet air over the
British Isles, resulting in thick, dense clouds and severe thunderstorms across most of England and Wales. These clouds completely blotted out the light in some areas and the rain and hail resulted in property damage and flooding, and at least four people were killed.
272:, causing water to rapidly precipitate out and form especially large raindrops and hailstones. The thunderstorms resulted in one of the most widespread intense hail falls ever recorded in the UK, with hail events in 9 separate places reported as "severe" (H3) or greater on the
240:
The warm desert air brought a heatwave over
Southern England, with temperatures in London on 1 July measured at 32 °C (90 °F), until it met the much cooler, moister Atlantic airstream. The boundary between the two formed a
759:
257:. Thick clouds, darkened by the Sahara dust, rose to 44,000 feet (13,000 m), plunging areas along the squall line into total darkness. In some areas, the lightning continued for 24 hours, and
1115:
893:
888:
868:
752:
347:
In the wake of the storm, a number of normally rare
African and Southern European insects were reported across England, having been blown across with the Sahara dust.
300:
surfaces it fell on – only the south coast and uplands of Wales avoided the red rain. The last comparable storm associated with
Saharan dust was seen in October 1755.
1842:
332:
crops assessed as "a major disaster". The summer of 1968 would prove to be one of the worst ever recorded for flooding in the UK, with further storms causing the
858:
1847:
745:
1120:
328:, the accumulated hail piled 450 millimetres (18 in) deep, and in parts of Yorkshire the ice was so severe that roads had to be cleared with bulldozers.
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853:
848:
518:
Flood studies conference: papers and discussion on the Flood studies report and discussion on
Reservoir flood standards : proceedings of the Conference
873:
1110:
878:
691:"Extreme thundery rainfall event in central and southern England, 19-20 July 2007: Part two: Comparisons to previous severe summer rainfall events"
1274:
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820:
637:
324:. Hail broke windows and dented cars across a wide swathe of the country, and damage was reported at both Cardiff Airport and RAF Chivenor. At
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237:. Unusually, no clouds formed as this dust blew over continental Europe, and the layer reached England on 30 June largely unrained out.
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hail scale, and the strongest rated "destructive" (H6). Hailstones 75 millimetres (3.0 in) across – the size of a
1720:
1715:
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1665:
1439:
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491:"Severe Hailstorms in the United Kingdom and Ireland: A Climatological Survey with Recent and Historical Case Studies"
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The storms resulted in at least four fatalities. Three people were struck by lightning – a 72-year-old woman in
246:
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in North
Yorkshire saw 35.7 millimetres (1.41 in) of rain in under 10 minutes – a UK record until 2003.
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17:
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34:
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Along with the hail came heavy rain, with the 9 minute 35.7 millimetres (1.41 in) fall at
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495:
Extreme
Weather: Forty Years of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO)
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63:
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French, R. A. (1969). "Moth immigrations in the British Isles in July 1968".
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1803:
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thunderstorms in the British Isles for over 200 years. A layer of
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638:"21 pictures of Bradford city centre underwater in 1968"
340:
that September, and would not be equalled until the
1779:
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689:Webb, Jonathan D.C.; Pike, William S. (July 2010).
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320:– while an 80-year-old man drowned in flooding in
438:
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391:"The dust fall and severe storms of 1 July 1968"
295:setting a record for a sub-10-minute total. The
583:"Teesside remembers the Great Darkness of 1968"
532:"The 52 Most Intense Hailstorms, 1650 To Date"
753:
520:. Institution of Civil Engineers. p. 13.
489:Webb, Jonathan D.C.; Elsom, Derek M. (2016).
425:"Two women and girl killed in freak storms".
8:
27:
18:July 1968 England and Wales dust fall storms
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443:"Multi-coloured rain on the hottest day".
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268:The dust particles served as seeds for
1843:July 1968 events in the United Kingdom
484:
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201:July 1968 United Kingdom thunderstorms
28:July 1968 United Kingdom thunderstorms
7:
1848:1968 disasters in the United Kingdom
698:International Journal of Meteorology
665:"Monthly Weather Report – July 1968"
556:Brockway, Derek (14 December 2011).
39:Weather map at 18:00 on 1 July 1968
25:
245:stretching from Devon, along the
389:Stevenson, Catherine M. (1969).
798:United Kingdom weather records
608:Barnett, David (3 July 2009).
284:, and the local newspaper for
1:
793:Drought in the United Kingdom
781:Climate of the United Kingdom
145:184 millimetres (7.2 in)
1204:North Sea and Irish Sea 2013
135:450 millimetres (18 in)
123:75 millimetres (3.0 in)
636:Ayres, Odele (8 May 2018).
558:"How hailstones are formed"
1874:
1222:Widecombe-in-the-Moor 1638
1049:Holmfirth 1738, 1777, 1944
336:just a week later and the
316:, and an unnamed woman in
1853:Weather events in England
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821:Buachaille Etive Mòr 2009
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159:
155:
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111:
107:
52:
48:
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334:Chew Stoke flood of 1968
312:, a 14-year-old girl in
1116:Somerset Levels 2013–14
1054:North East England 1771
211:blowing north from the
1823:1968 natural disasters
1094:November–December 2009
768:Weather events in the
725:Entomologist's Gazette
357:New England's Dark Day
326:Yeadon, West Yorkshire
137:Yeadon, West Yorkshire
610:"Memories flood back"
445:Birmingham Daily Post
203:were the most severe
96:2 July 1968
73:1 July 1968
1136:Yorkshire Dales 2019
1039:Bristol Channel 1607
1016:Yorkshire Dales 2019
247:England–Wales border
909:February–March 2018
643:Telegraph and Argus
615:Telegraph and Argus
516:Darwent, Thelma J.
338:Great Flood of 1968
280:– were measured at
29:
1250:Great Malvern 1761
1169:South England 1287
1074:South England 1968
497:. pp. 181–185
362:Red rain in Kerala
216:During the storm,
184:South West England
1838:Floods in England
1810:
1809:
1759:April–August 2022
1749:February–May 2019
1580:Windstorm seasons
197:
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16:(Redirected from
1865:
1858:1968 meteorology
1792:Great Stink 1858
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251:Northern England
230:Hoggar Mountains
192:Northern England
142:Maximum rainfall
132:or ice accretion
130:Maximum snowfall
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1189:North Sea 1976
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447:. 2 July 1968.
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429:. 3 July 1968.
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401:(5): 125–127.
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259:ball lightning
249:and up across
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1363:January 1976
1358:January 1968
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1334:October 1881
1319:October 1859
1309:January 1839
1275:October 2022
1255:October 1913
1226:
1161:Storm surges
1011:Morpeth 2008
1001:Glasgow 2002
978:Flash floods
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964:March 2023 (
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955:March 2018 (
940:January 1995
925:January 1881
884:October 2008
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670:. Met Office
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263:RAF Chivenor
261:was seen at
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209:mineral dust
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120:Largest hail
1744:Summer 2018
1314:August 1848
1270:London 2006
1245:London 1091
1179:Thames 1928
1141:Summer 2022
1089:August 2008
1084:Summer 2007
1079:Autumn 2000
1069:Thames 1947
1064:Thames 1928
1021:London 2021
918:Snow events
904:Spring 2013
562:BBC Weather
342:2007 floods
297:Isle of Man
293:Leeming Bar
278:tennis ball
243:squall line
224:Meteorology
218:Leeming Bar
147:Isle of Man
1817:Categories
1291:hurricanes
1285:Windstorms
1044:Trent 1683
986:Louth 1920
950:March 2013
935:April 1981
930:March 1891
831:Cold snaps
816:Lewes 1836
808:Avalanches
368:References
270:nucleation
265:in Devon.
255:River Tees
175:Widespread
164:Fatalities
100:1968-07-02
93:Dissipated
77:1968-07-01
1802:Disputed
1736:Wildfires
1640:Heatwaves
1237:Tornadoes
1227:July 1968
1126:June 2016
708:2 October
674:2 October
649:2 October
621:2 October
593:2 October
567:2 October
541:2 October
501:2 October
469:2 October
322:Welshpool
304:Aftermath
205:dust fall
61:Dust fall
1645:Droughts
351:See also
233:classic
88:28 hours
85:Duration
1804:tsunami
1627:2023–24
1622:2022–23
1617:2021–22
1612:2020–21
1607:2019–20
1602:2018–19
1597:2017–18
1592:2016–17
1587:2015–16
1506:Lorenzo
1497:Eleanor
1488:Ophelia
1470:Desmond
1461:Abigail
1452:Gonzalo
1370:Charley
1289:former
1106:2012–13
894:2010–11
889:2009–10
879:1990–91
869:1985–86
864:1981–82
859:1962–63
854:1946–47
849:1894–95
839:1683–84
395:Weather
253:to the
125:Cardiff
98: (
75: (
1569:Ciarán
1551:Eunice
1524:Dennis
1346:Debbie
1031:Floods
966:Larisa
460:"1968"
314:Oldham
213:Sahara
172:Damage
70:Formed
1780:Other
1560:Babet
1542:Barra
1515:Ciara
1408:Katia
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704:(351)
694:(PDF)
668:(PDF)
536:TORRO
274:TORRO
1726:2022
1721:2021
1716:2019
1711:2018
1706:2013
1701:2006
1696:2003
1691:1995
1686:1990
1681:1976
1676:1955
1671:1911
1666:1906
1661:1808
1656:1757
1533:Alex
1389:Lili
1151:2024
1146:2023
957:Emma
874:1987
844:1709
710:2018
676:2018
651:2018
623:2018
595:2018
569:2018
543:2018
503:2018
471:2018
228:The
199:The
57:Type
1479:Eva
1287:and
403:doi
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