Jharkhand will continue to experience light to moderate showers for the next 72 hours, weathermen said on Wednesday.

Director of India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Ranchi Met centre, S.D. Kotal, said several pockets of the state would also witness lightning and thunder for the next two days.

An alert in this regard was issued by the meteorological department in the afternoon.

Satellite pictures revealed that the western disturbance in the form of a cyclonic circulation was hovering over Jammu and Kashmir at 3.1km above mean sea level on Wednesday. An associated trough was also hovering over the middle and upper levels of the troposphere at 5.8km above mean sea level .

Another cyclonic circulation was existing over southwest Madhya Pradesh extending up to 1.5km above mean sea level.

But the impact of this cyclonic circulation will wane in next 24 hours, Kotal said.

Light rain occurred at isolated places in Jharkhand during the last 24 hours ( 8.30 am of Tuesday to 8.30am of Wednesday).

The highest rainfall of 4.2mm was recorded at Kolebira (in Simdega).

Simdega town recorded around 4mm while several places in Gumla and Lohardaga recorded 2mm.

Capital Ranchi witnessed 1mm rainfall while the local observatory in Jamshedpur recorded 0.3mm.

Weathermen said the current wind pattern was helping in moisture incursion into the atmosphere and cloud formation.

The minimum readings (or night temperature) also witnessed a rise.

Ranchi on Wednesday recorded a minimum temperature of 12.6°C, two notches above normal while Jamshedpur notched a minimum of 16.3°C, two points above normal.

The IMD observatory in Daltonganj, the Palamau headquarters, on Wednesday recorded a minimum of 13.3°C, three notches above normal.

Several other districts, including Bokaro, Dhanbad, Deoghar, Hazaribagh, Dumka and Pakur besides Santhal Pargana and Chhotnagpur plateau region witnessed a rise in minimum readings.