HYDERABAD: Farmers who are hoping for a good yield need to be cautious with strong storms expected to hit the State which could damage the crops in the wake of heavy rainfall forecast in the next four to five days.
These weather conditions are being attributed to a trough running from Jharkhand to Telangana State across Chhattisgarh. Under its influence, heavy rainfall accompanied by heavy winds, thunder and hailstorm, is expected to hit the State between March 16 and 20.
Usually, unseasonal rains result in damage to standing crops like chilli and maize. In Adilabad district, farmers have cultivated bengal gram, paddy and maize crops. If the intensity of rainfall is high as per the forecast, farmers may suffer a huge blow.
As per the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast, heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places in Nizamabad, Jagtial, Rajanna Sircilla, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Janagaon, Siddipet and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts on March 17 and 18 while on March 15 and 16, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) are very likely to occur in these places.
According to the forecast, there would be cloudy sky and haze during morning hours. Surface winds are likely to be south-easterlies with wind speeds around 6-10 kmph. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 34 degrees and 19 degrees Celsius respectively during the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile, maximum temperatures have touched 40 degrees in the State. On Tuesday, Yanambailu in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district recorded the highest temperature of 40.3 degree Celsius.In Hyderabad, a maximum temperature of 35.1 degrees was recorded in BHEL. During the last 24 hours, a maximum temperature of 39.8 degrees was registered in Naidupeta, Bhadradri Kothagudem.