HUDDERSFIELD meteorologist Paul Stevens said last night's storm was one of the worst the town had ever seen.

He said: "You could really call it The Huddersfield Storm, because the thundercloud was right overhead.

"At the height of the storm, at about 5.15pm there were three to five lightning strikes every minute.

"Between 4.15 and 6.15pm, 66mm of rain fell on the town. That's a little more than the normal average for the whole of August."

That followed the 81mm on Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Mr Stevens, who has a weather station at Salendine Nook, said the storm rivalled the big storms that struck Skipton in 1979 and the Calderdale area in 1989.

The intensity of the storm was the reason for severe flooding and damage.

The culprit was a massive thunder- cloud which settled over Huddersfield for about 90 minutes in the prevailing wind conditions.

Mr Stevens added: "This storm was genuinely a once-in-a lifetime experience."

It struck less than a week after Huddersfield had its warmest night on record - 19.2°C (66°F), logged last Sunday.