Winds, thunderstorm likely on Saturday but mercury to rise

New Delhi : The national capital on Friday sizzled at 40.6 degrees Celsius, the season’s average, even as the Met department warned of strong winds, with dust and thunderstorm towards Saturday.

The Met also warned of moderate thunderstorm in different parts of the country with frequent lightning flashes, moderate to heavy spell of rain and maximum wind speed of 29 to 74 kmph towards Saturday afternoon and evening.

The warning has been issued for Alwar (Rajashtan), Dehradun, parts of Kashmir, Shillong, Guwahati and Silchar, Kolkata and surrounding region, Baramati in Maharashtra, and parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala an Tamil Nadu.

Delhi may also see gusty winds and thunderstorm towards Saturday noon.

On Friday, while a few regions in Delhi had a trace of rain or very light showers towards Friday morning, the weather department expects rain towards Saturday evening.

“Rain or thundershowers with strong gusty winds are likely towards Saturday afternoon and evening,” an official at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told IANS.

The low intensity rain may soothe the evening but the maximum temperature on Saturday would still remain well above 40 degrees.

According to weather analysts, the mercury is set to rise from Sunday onwards with a change in wind direction from the current south-easterly to dry and warm north-westerly.

Friday’s minimum temperature settled at 26.7 degrees Celsius, the season’s average.

The humidity oscillated between 26 to 43 per cent.

Thursday’s maximum temperature settled at 41.8 degrees Celsius, two notches above the normal, while the minimum temperature was 26.1 degrees Celsius.

Published on: May 18, 2018 at 21:36 IST

IANS