Lucknow: Rain and thunderstorms lashed several parts of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, on Friday morning, bringing relief from warm weather conditions prevailing for the past two weeks. Hailstorm and strong winds also hit many parts of the state. The sudden change led to drop in the maximum temperatures by 5 to 12 degrees Celsius in many parts of UP. Met department said the weather in Lucknow will remain cloudy on Saturday, with drop in minimum temperature and possibility of light rainfall. Rain or thundershowers may occur at isolated places over western and eastern UP. A few parts of east UP may also witness thunderstorms with lightning/gusty winds with speed upto 40-50 kmph. Weather will be clear from March 22 to 26, said the Met department.Bijnor recorded highest 23.2mm rainfall in the state, followed by Barabanki 18.2mm, Lucknow 18mm, Bahraich 15.4mm and Meerut 11.2mm. High-velocity winds also lashed the state. In Hathras, the wind speed touched 52km per hour. A hailstorm was also reported from isolated places in Mathura. In Lucknow, people woke up to a partly cloudy sky that became heavily overcast by 10am, followed by thundershowers with winds measuring between 20-25 km per hour. Thunderstorm led to power cuts in many areas for a few hours. The maximum temperature dropped to 23.5 degrees Celsius, 10.3 notches below normal, and was the ‘coolest day’ of this March in the state capital. However, the partly cloudy sky in the night prevented ground heat from escaping into the atmosphere, leading to rise in mercury levels. The minimum temperature was 20.3 degrees Celsius, 4.1 units above normal. In fact, the difference between maximum and minimum temperature was only 3.2 degrees. Senior scientist at the Met department, Mohammad Danish, said: “There was a western disturbance due to a trough (an elongated low-pressure area) from north Pakistan to southwest Madhya Pradesh across Punjab and Rajasthan. There was also a cyclonic circulation over UP. The interaction between the WD and cyclonic system triggered the thunderstorm and rainfall in several parts of the state, including Lucknow.”
