‘Thunderstorms to continue in several South Bengal districts till Monday’

Kolkata: The Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore on Friday said that thunderstorms will continue in several South Bengal districts till Monday next week. The MeT office also warned that South Bengal will witness heavy rainfall along with Nor’wester in the next 48 hours.

The intensity of rainfall in North Bengal will decrease. A senior weather official said there is no possibility of a heatwave in South Bengal for at least a week.

Temperature will remain below normal. Mercury may however slide up slightly from the middle of next week after it stops raining. Thunderstorms and rainfall on repeated occasions have brought down the city’s temperature to around 30 degree Celsius from what had shot up to 43 in Kolkata a few days ago.

Several districts in South Bengal, including Kolkata, may receive thunderstorms with lightning, gusty wind at 50-60 kmph. Lightning will strike in several pockets. South 24-parganas, East Midnapore, Murshidabad will receive heavy rainfall on Saturday.

The districts like Birbhum, Murshidabad, Nadia, East Midnapore, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas may witness Nor’wester and lightning in the next 48 hours. Kolkata and several South Bengal districts received thunderstorms and rainfall accompanied by lightning on Thursday. Hailstorms occurred in several parts of Kolkata.

A tree fell on the wall of the Calcutta Rowing Club as the gusty wind blew. The districts like North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore, Howrah, Kolkata, Hooghly received rainfall on Thursday. According to a weather official: “A cyclonic circulation lies over Bangladesh & neighbourhood and extends up to 1.5 km above mean sea level creating strong moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal.

Thunderstorms with lightning along with gusty wind speed and thunder squall activity are very likely to continue over the districts of West Bengal till the end of the week.” Cyclonic circulations, rain and thunderstorms are causing the maximum temperature to be at or below 35 degree Celsius.

The MeT office had earlier issued yellow alert for North Bengal saying that Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda would receive thunderstorms with lightning and gusty wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph.

Much awaited rain brought relief from sweltering heat in the southern districts of Bengal on last Monday as a moderate rain hit Kolkata and its neighbouring Howrah and North 24-Parganas districts and other parts of South Bengal.

Mercury went down by 5-6 degrees in South Bengal in the next 48 hours. The rain came as a major relief to the city dwellers after a prolonged heatwave for over two weeks.