Edinburgh rocked by thunderclap followed by hail shower

Edinburgh residents left baffled by sudden and unexpected weather phenomenon

Edinburgh residents were rocked by an unexpected thunderclap last night, which was followed by a dramatic shower of hail stones.

The weather phenomenon hit the city just before 9pm last night, with sudden thunder and lightning producing a loud bang to disturb locals. A thunderclap is a short loud noise that you hear in the sky just after you see a flash of lightning.

Many local residents took to social media after the thunderclap hit Edinburgh last night.

One posting on X, formerly Twitter, said: "And now it's not so much 'sunshine after the rain', but 'hail after the thunder'. Maybe not such a good song lyric though?"

And another said: "Big loud thunderclap, no mention of thunder on the weather forecast, followed by the clatter of hail on the window. Anyone else hear it?"

While one late evening shopper said: "I thought Aldi had exploded!"

Edinburgh was hit by a thunderclap last night. Stock photo by Ian Georgeson.

East Lothian councillor Colin McGinn tweeted: "Gave me a fright along in Macmerry looked like a missile!" And Edinburgh councillor Scott Arthur said: "Well, that was a thunderclap!"

The thunderclap was not expected according to the Met Office, which had forecast light rain yesterday evening followed by a cloudy evening.