Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The ongoing spell of light rainfall in the last few days gave way to heavy rainfall with thunder and hailstorms in many parts of the city on Sunday. The meteorological department record shows that Indore witnessed such heavy rainfall in a day in April after 128 years!
The city witnessed 14.2 mm rain on Sunday while over 29.9 mm of rainfall was recorded from Saturday morning to Sunday evening. With this, the total rainfall in the month reached 39 mm. Last recorded, the city had received 51.4 mm of rainfall in 24 hours on April 16, 1895 i.e. 128 years ago.
The rain coupled with hailstorms and thunder also pulled the day temperature 13 degrees Celsius below normal on Sunday.
The extreme weather conditions also decreased the difference between the day and night temperatures to only 9 degrees Celsius.
Citizens woke up to a spell of heavy rainfall and thunder on Sunday morning which continued intermittently till afternoon.
People were surprised by the hailstorm in the middle of summer. Roads hailstones could be seen in many parts of the district and outskirts of the city mainly in Mhow, Nemawar Road, and along the Bypass.
Water logging in Bhamori area. | Pintu Namdev
The heavy rain submerged many roads of the city making it difficult for the commuters to drive. The water logging had also caused traffic jams in many places including Bypass.
The maximum temperature on Sunday was recorded as 27.4 degrees Celsius which was 13 degrees Celsius below normal while the minimum temperature was 18.9 degrees Celsius which was four degrees Celsius below normal.
Similar conditions likely for a week
According to the weatherman, similar conditions of weather would continue next week and the state would continue to witness hailstorms and rain.
“Multiple systems are affecting the weather conditions of the state as the western disturbance as a cyclonic circulation lies over central Pakistan in lower and upper tropospheric levels while induced cyclonic circulation lies over south Pakistan and adjoining west Rajasthan in lower tropospheric levels.
However, a trough/wind discontinuity running from east Vidarbha to north interior Tamil Nadu in lower tropospheric levels is the major reason for the spell of rainfall and thunderstorm in the state,” Ved Prakash Singh, senior meteorologist, India Meteorological Department, Bhopal, said.
He also added that a system being generated over Arabian Sea is also causing moisture incursion and adding to the local systems which are causing rainfall.
“Conditions would remain the same for a week as another active western disturbance is likely to affect Northwest India from the night of May 1,” Singh said. Officials said that the intensity of rainfall may decrease on May 1 and 2 but it will increase again.
Extreme rainfall records in April
The heaviest fall in 24 hours in April was recorded on April 16, 1895 in Indore i.e. 51.1 mm. The highest total monthly rainfall was 57.4 mm in 1895.
In the last ten years, 13 mm of rainfall was recorded on April 12 in 2018.
People had to take out raincoats and umbrellas to brave the rainfall in the middle of summer) | ANANDSHIVRE
Visibility drops to 500 metres
With the sky remaining overcast throughout the day, the visibility too had dropped to 500 metres on Sunday morning.
The Sun could shine only in the afternoon for a few minutes and the hide-and-seek between the Sun and clouds continued till evening.
Commuters had to keep their headlights on throughout the day as it remained dark due to clouds enveloping the city sky.
Residents too had to keep lights on in their houses but had to deal with frequent power cuts in many areas.
Kids enjoy hailstones in Nipania area |
Climatic features in May
Indore experiences the peak of summer in this month, when the highest temperature of the year is recorded. The surface winds are generally westerly. Sometimes, during the afternoon, the wind is strong and gusty, adding to human discomfort. Thundershowers which account for most of the wet spells during this month and bring considerable relief from the summer heat, are mostly associated with local developments of heat flow, wind discontinuity and sometimes due to western disturbances moving across the extreme north of the country.
The mean maximum temperature is 40.4 degree Celsius during the month. The mean minimum temperature is 24.6°C, thus making nights more uncomfortable.
The average rainfall is 13.4 mm and the number of rainy days is only 1.5. The mean frequency of occurrence of thunderstorms is 3 days.
Heavy rains caused water-logging in many parts of the city and commuters had to face tough times while driving on city roads as it was difficult to see the pits dug for construction works.
The front part of a car fell into a pit excavated for the construction of the Phooti Kothi Flyover on Sunday noon.
