LATEST SKY EVENTS
September 9th 2025
Early Autumn Structured Storm Cell At Slemish - NEW REPORT
On September 4th 2025 we had a late season set-up with 500 CAPE on a Wly flow. E parts of NI looked best but my expectations were low due to the absence of strong shear. I met Colleen Webb while crisp updraughts began to develop rapidly which exhibited strong tilting and a vault which was entirely unexpected. We chased one particular cell to Slemish where we got treated to the best storm structure of the year with leaning updraughts, vented precip, a well formed dark base with striation lines with black scud tags swirling and rotating below. Then a dramatic lowering formed at close range rotating into what can only be described as a large wall cloud. The cell in essence took on transient supercell traits against all odds, this was followed by the sighting of an impressive white rope funnel cloud during the drive home. One page report with 25 images and 1 video clip. - REPORT.
Late Summer Sky Action - NEW REPORT
It's late summer, the weather has been exceptionally dry, there's been little in the way of convective activity however there were a few interesting events and memories worth documenting. I got captivated by a surge in Butterflies at Lissan House, a drone day trip to Co. Down documenting harvesting, stone circles and St. John's lighthouse. Then an all night moonlit Perseid meteor shower watch at Lough Fea complimented by a beautiful Venus-Moon conjunction in the pre-dawn sky. Then a potent convective cell which erupted in strong solar heating and 800 CAPE over Moneymore which flooded the town and which sported the most impressive updraughts I've ever seen on a warm topped cell. Finally a warm summer's evening at Myroe on the shores of Lough Foyle filming a combine harvester at work at sunset like a scene straight from 'Dallas'. One page report with 15 images. - REPORT.
Major Multicell Thunderstorm Event Co. Sligo - NEW REPORT
Just when I thought the 2025 season was over nature turned the tables with a major thunderstorm set-up over W Ireland. On July 13th big CAPE, strong wind shear, and deep moisture all converged ahead of a cold front resulting in the biggest outbreak of storms this year. My Wife and I decided to chase and turn the day into a road trip. We visited Mullaghmore, Benbulbin, then reached our target area at Rosse's Point in Co. Sligo. From there we watched an enormous highly sheared multicell storm come into view with solid updraughts and anvil sheared out over the sea producing lightning every second for residents below it, then capturing the storm with Black Rock Lighthouse followed night time lightning over Co. Antrim at 2am. This single day has made my entire storm season. One page report with 27 images and 1 video clip. - REPORT.
Pulse Thunderstorm Day With Surprise Sunset Storm - NEW REPORT
May 30th introduced the largest coverage of instability across Ireland to date with values peaking at 900 CAPE and LIs of -4. With -35c tops and a warm moist surface flow with strong heating this looked to be a good day. However as the day went on red flags began to appear, while storms rumbled away over the Republic, N. Ireland remained dry all afternoon. The convection was strongly capped and things didn't look good. I went on the hunt in the late afternoon and met several chaser friends. By 6pm the cap broke and a storm erupted over Mfelt with flooding rainfall and hail stones. We relocated to Ballyronan where a storm rumbled away for half an hour. Before sunset my Wife and I encountered yet another storm from Cookstown, the largest storm of the day with beautiful sunlit updraughts bathed in surreal golden hour light. One page report with 16 images. - REPORT.
Major Gorse Fire At Corrick Road Near Lough Fea - NEW REPORT
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Just when I thought I wouldn't experience another wild fire on the scale of Ballygawley I was proven wrong on April 10th 2025 when I spotted pyrocumulus in the sky which correlated with online reports of a gorse fire in the vicinity of Lough Fea near Corrick Road. I drove up for a look not expecting anything major until I arrived at the scene and got the drone in the air for a better look. I was astonished to witness a massive fire in progress burning trees and bushes with multiple sources covering a very large horizontal extent. The scene was spectacular yet terrible in equal measure while almost 50 fire fighters tackled the blaze to bring it under control. This event was followed by another fire on Glenshane Pass for the next two nights when we made an attempt to film the fire at night with the drone. This marks four wild fires filmed within five days making this one of the most active fire seasons in years. One page report with 17 images and 1 video clip. - REPORT.
Major Wild Fire Near Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone - NEW REPORT
A major outbreak of wild fires has been making the news across N. Ireland with 250 fires within a week, most were deliberate. On April 8th 2025 I had intentions of shooting the sunset when suddenly reports arrived on social media of another major wild fire near Ballygawley. I took the chance and drove to the scene to document the event, the fire was massive and over one mile long and wider than any I had seen before with multiple sources. The wild fire was burning near wind turbines and was rapidly approaching a house forcing owners and their pets to evacuate while 45 fire crew with 29 appliances battled the blaze working all through the night with a fire that was as dramatic as it was dangerous in the light of the setting sun. One page report with 22 images and 1 video clip - REPORT.
N. Ireland Storm Chasing Image Reports - ARCHIVE
Astronomy is not the only subject I'm interested in, check out my N. Ireland Storm Chasing section and view the chase reports and images which detail not only storms but other phenomena such as a moonbows, noctilucent clouds, aurora displays and exciting nature related photo shoots.
Martin McKenna
