Storms and gutsy winds expected to pound India

THUNDERSTORMS with lightning and gusty winds with speed up to 30-40 km/h at isolated places over Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad were expected today, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said yesterday.

Similar weather is predicted over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands where winds with speeds up to 40-50 km/h are likely.

Thunderstorms are also expected at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Telangana, Kerala, Mahe, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, .

Besides this, heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places over east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Odisha, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam and Meghalaya, said IMD.

Winds up to 40-50 km/h gusting to 60 km/h are expected over the southwest and west central Arabian Sea.

The IMD predicted squally weather bringing winds up to 60 km/h over west central Bay of Bengal along and off the Andhra Pradesh coast, and warned that fishermen should not venture into the sea.

The weather office also announced that there will be “no significant change in temperatures over the country during next five days”.

For the next two days, the IMD said, there is a possibility of fairly widespread rainfall over most parts of Northeast, East India, Telangana and Islands; scattered to fairly widespread rainfall along the west coast; and isolated to scattered rainfall over parts of the Western Himalayan Region, East

Uttar Pradesh, Central, West India and remaining parts of peninsular India.

“A subdued rainfall or weak monsoon spell over central, peninsular and north-west India and increase in rainfall activity is expected over northeast India,” said the IMD.

Very heavy rainfall is very likely for the next four days at isolated places over Odisha and heavy rainfall at isolated places over Chhattisgarh, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.