A summer saviour Nor'wester triggered by a cyclonic circulation over neighbouring Madhya Pradesh led to sharp showers in several districts, prividing much-needed respite to a sweltering Jharkhand on Thursday evening.
Apart from Jamshedpur, the Nor'wester, accompanied by rain and gusty winds blowing at a speed of over 40 Kmph, lashed several districts including Sahebganj, Dumka, Pakur, Dumka, Jamtara, Giridih, Bokaro, Ramgarh, Khunti, Gumla, Simdega, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan.
The local IMD centre in Jamshedpur recorded 23mm rain while Ghatshila and adjoining Seraikela witnessed 20mm of rain.
Jamshedpur and several other parts of Kolhan experienced hailstones.
"The cyclonic circulation extending 1.5 km above mean sea level gave momentum to the Nor'wester which originated from the Chhotanagpur Plateau region. A trough was also hovering over Gangetic Bengal extending 1.5km above the mean sea level, " said Abhishek Anand, head of IMD's Ranchi Meteorological Centre.
He went on to say that Jharkhand will continue to experience light to moderate rain, accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning, during the next four to five days.
Ranchi Met Centre's forecast suggests partly cloudy sky with thundershowers and gusty winds in north-east, central and southern Jharkhand till May 3.
Soon after the rain and thunderstorm activity, Thursday's maximum reading in Jamshedpur and its adjoining areas, which had risen to 41.4 degree Celsius, witnessed an abrupt fall, resulting in pleasant weather.
"Thunderstorm and rain brought much-needed respite from the sweltering conditions," said Ananya Das, a Sakchi-resident and a teacher by profession.
Thursday's storm resulted in blackouts at several places in Jamshedpur and adjoining areas due to snapping of overhead cables.
Electricity poles also got damaged at a few places too. Power supply was disrupted in Chhota Govindpur and Ghorabandha, both on the outskirts of Telco, Mango and Jugsalai, all served by Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL).
JBVNL authorities said normal power supply was expected to resume late in the night on Thursday.
