A major storm, flash flood and lightning hit the locality last night (Friday 18 July) with media reports that several roads in Eastbourne were closed and homes left without power after an electricity substation exploded.
Sweltering weather combined with intense storms are being referred to by the Met Office as ‘a Spanish Plume’, the result of the fact that it is so warm. ‘The air holds so much more moisture, with an effect that is not dissimilar to tropical countries, often combined with hailstones’, explained a spokesman on the BBC Radio 4 programme, Today, this morning.
In Pevensey Bay hailstones were evident with one reader hearing ‘pellets hitting the conservatory like gunshots’. No damage to any properties appears to have been reported.
In the locality there were no reports of power failures but people witnessed a powerful storm that lasted approximately an hour, with lightning in the sky directly overhead.
There was a repeat performance between approximately 2:00am and 4:00am, overnight.
A few miles down the road, it was a different story. UK Power Networks reported an incident in Eastbourne happening at 18:00:31, ‘with an estimated restoration time to be confirmed with potential affects to postcodes beginning BN22 8′.
The Eastbourne Herald reported an explosion at the substation close to Bridgemere Road and Churchdale Road ‘shortly after 6pm’ and information from the police that ‘they believe it has been totally destroyed’.
Roads around the area were closed off while police, fire crews and personnel from the electricity board assessed the scene.
At the time it was not known whether homes would have to be evacuated, but it is understood that many were left without electricity.
