Amazing thunderstorm passing through Bedford, UK - 21/22 September 2024

After witnessing a strong thunderstorm on the afternoon of September 21st, elevated thunderstorms developed later at around 10 p.m. and drifted NW through the night. The first distant lightning flashes were observed at 10:30 p.m. when I was in my car picking up my parents after a party. On the journey home the flashes were getting brighter and increased in frequency. I arrived back just after 11pm and scrambled to get my equipment ready, but while preparing a massive flash of lightning lit up my whole room. I had a feeling the thunder was going to be loud so I pulled my phone out and recorded one of the best thunderclaps I've ever heard (the first clip of the video). This strike turned out to be a 173kA CG. A few minutes later there was another CG that I saw visually and had a peak current of 129kA, but the rest of the lightning in the video was overhead cloud-to-cloud.