BHUBANESWAR: After a prolonged spell of sweltering heat, Odisha has found some relief over the past two days with enhanced thundershower activity bringing down temperatures across districts.
The Twin City of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack relished a pleasant change from the gruelling conditions over the past fortnight as a nor’wester came down bringing rains and cool wind on Thursday evening.
Bhubaneswar and Cuttack witnessed strong winds accompanied by a short spell of thundershower. Trees were uprooted in several parts of the cities including Kharavela Nagar, Saheed Nagar, Nayapalli, BJB Nagar and Ahalya Nagar in the capital, and Orissa High Court campus, CDA sector 6 and 7, Shelter Chhak and Chauliaganj in Cuttack. Fire services personnel were deployed to remove the uprooted trees and clear the roads. Some places in the city also experienced power disruptions for over an hour.
Angul, Balangir, Sundargarh and Sonepur districts also witnessed thunderstorms with rain and hail on the day. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported hailstorms at Gopalpur and Nuagaon in Balasore district on Wednesday. Similar activity was recorded in Nabarangpur district, where standing crops suffered damage. In Jharigaon block of the district, maize and paddy crops were particularly affected.
Rainfall remained significant in many parts of the state. In the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Thursday, Chandrapur in Rayagada district and Jamsolaghat in Mayurbhanj received 70 mm of rain each, while Chandua and Tiring recorded 60 mm each.
The regional meteorological centre has forecast thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in the state till May 6. Districts such as Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Keonjhar and Nabarangpur are likely to experience thunderstorm activity with strong winds on Friday.
Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre director Manorama Mohanty said, “Odisha has been experiencing nor’wester rains due to a trough running from southeast Uttar Pradesh to north interior Odisha across Chhattisgarh. Due to the rains, the maximum day temperature is expected to slightly fall by 2 degree Celsius to 3 deg C during the next two days. The rainfall activity is expected to continue in parts of the state till May 6.”
On the day, only six places recorded 40 deg C or more as compared to 15 places on Wednesday. Balangir was the hottest at 42.2 deg C, followed by Titilagarh 41.3 deg C. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 37.1 deg C and 35.8 deg C respectively.