BHUBANESWAR: Incessant rains dampened Christmas celebrations across the state on Wednesday as most places received rainfall for the second consecutive day on the day under influence of the well-marked low pressure area over Bay of Bengal off south Andhra Pradesh-north Tamil Nadu coasts.
Under its influence, Tangi in Khurda and Koksara in Kalahandi received heavy showers and recorded 74 mm and 65 mm rains respectively in the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday.
During the period, 25 districts received ‘large excess’ rainfall. Twin City Bhubaneswar and Cuttack received 18.8 mm and 20.6 mm rains respectively.
“The skies remained under the blanket of a thick cloud cover as north-easterly to easterly winds carrying moisture were blowing towards Odisha. Though rainfall activity is expected to subside from Thursday onwards, light showers may prevail in Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam districts in the next 24 hours,” said director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre, Manorama Mohanty.
Odisha has been experiencing untimely rains since December 20 due to the prevailing weather system. On an average, the state receives only 6.7 mm rains in the month. However, it has already recorded 26.8 mm rains between December 19 and 25 morning.
The showers also crippled traffic movement across the state capital. Most of the major stretches in the capital like Bomikhal, Rasulgarh, Janpath and others experienced heavy traffic jams on the day. Vehicular movement was affected on NH-16 too, as showers lashed the city throughout the day.
Meanwhile, regional met office has issued dense fog warning in Sonepur, Boudh, Nuapada, Balangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri districts on Thursday night and Friday morning.