BALASORE: A thunder squall hit Balasore district on Wednesday afternoon causing widespread damage to business establishments and public properties. The rain brought down the day temperature by almost nine degrees.
Inauguration of the two-day Agriculture Mahotsav at ITI Field in the town was delayed by nearly two hours as the storm blew away many stalls. Traffic was disrupted in and around the town and municipality authorities had a tough time to clear the damaged hoardings.
Many parts of the district plunged into darkness as power supply was snapped and telecommunication disrupted for over four hours.
Met officials said many areas in the district witnessed rain accompanied with hailstone. Rain that continued for nearly one hour brought humidity and temperature down. The wind speed was over 80 km per hour and lasted for 10 minutes.
The district had recorded highest temperature of this season 41 degree Celsius on Wednesday.
“Rain brought the temperature down by almost nine degree Celsius. The temperature was 32 degree Celsius at 10 pm,” said the official. In the past few days, humidity levels in the town had reached nearly 50 percent, which according to weather department officials, was normal for the month of April.