AHMEDABAD: A sudden weather shockwave swept across Gujarat on Thursday, as a powerful western disturbance collided with cyclonic circulation, unleashing rain, hail, and storm-force winds across more than 80 talukas, disrupting daily life, damaging infrastructure, and raising fresh fears for crops.
What began as a routine summer day rapidly spiralled into a statewide weather disturbance, as a volatile clash between a Western Disturbance and an active Cyclonic Circulation over North Pakistan and West Rajasthan triggered a chain reaction across Gujarat.
As these systems intensified, they pushed moisture-laden winds deep into the state, flipping the seasonal script and dragging Gujarat into sudden, monsoon-like chaos right in the middle of peak summer. The impact was immediate and widespread, with 80 talukas reporting rain, thunder, hailstorms, and fierce gusts, creating a weather pattern more typical of June than March.
Wind speeds surged between 50 to 70 kmph, sweeping dust clouds across cities, tearing down hoardings, and stripping trees bare, leaving visual trails of destruction across urban and rural belts alike. The heaviest blow came from Amreli, where Bagasara recorded a sharp two inches of rainfall, marking the highest in the state, while in Rajkot, intense cloudbursts over Chotila and Bhensan dumped over 1.5 inches of rain within just an hour, choking roads with sudden waterlogging and paralysing traffic flow.
The storm did not spare North Gujarat either. Regions like Banaskantha, Vav, and Tharad were lashed by strong winds and rain, further expanding the impact zone and intensifying the scale of disruption.
As the system deepened, its destructive edge became clearer. Massive trees were uprooted across districts, collapsing onto roads and power lines, triggering widespread outages. Entire villages and urban pockets slipped into darkness, either due to snapped transmission lines or technical failures under storm pressure, amplifying public distress.
This cascading disruption not only choked daily life but also sent shockwaves through the agricultural sector. With standing crops exposed to hail and high-velocity winds, farmers now fear significant losses, turning an unseasonal weather event into a potential economic setback.
Weather experts warned that while there may be marginal stabilisation from Friday morning, the atmosphere remains unstable, and the threat is far from over. They cautioned that intermittent light to moderate rainfall could persist, and isolated hailstorm activity cannot be ruled out, particularly across Sabarkantha, Patan, Banaskantha, as well as key Saurashtra districts like Rajkot, Jamnagar and Morbi, urging residents to stay alert as the system continues to evolve.