VIJAYAWADA: Rain coupled with thunderstorm lashed the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh on Monday cooling down the prevailing hot conditions in the past few days. Indian Meteorological Department issued warning that thunderstorm along with lightning will occur in coastal districts and Rayalaseema region in the next 24 hours. On Monday, State Disaster Management Authority issued lightning strike alerts in East Godavari, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Krishna, Prakasam and Kurnool districts.
According to the Met officials, the southwest monsoon is normal over the coastal districts and weak over Rayalaseema region. The upper air cyclonic circulation over North Interior Karnataka and neighbourhood will extend up to 0.9 km above mean sea level. An upper air trough runs from south Tamil Nadu to north interior Karnataka at 1.5 km above mean sea level.
On Monday, Vijayawada witnessed a sudden downpour for about two to three hours at several places, resulting in choked drains and flooded the roads with rainwater. Areas such as Suryaraopet, Satyanarayanapuram and Moghalrajpuram were flooded with rainwater.