Several parts of Jharkhand are expected to experience rain and thunderstorm on February 16, the Ranchi Met office has forecast, citing Wednesday’s satellite pictures and wind chart analysis.

Weathermen pointed to a western disturbance over Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir extending 3.1km and 5.8km above the mean sea level as the primary reason. "The western disturbance is expected to trigger a cyclonic circulation which would result in rainfall over various parts of Jharkhand around January 16 and 17, " said a duty officer at the Ranchi Meteorological Centre.

The Met office also hinted at a gradual rise in minimum temperatures from Thursday. "We are expecting a rise in minimum temperature by three to four degree Celsius during the next 72 hours," said the Met official.

Both IMD’s Ranchi and Patna Met centres predicted dry weather with mainly clear sky for the next five days. Weathermen also ruled out possibility of fog and mist during the next five days.

The Met department's statistics of the past 24 hours suggested that cold wave conditions still prevailed in southern Jharkhand, particularly in Kolhan region.

On Wednesday, Chaibasa, the district headquarters of West Singhbhum, recorded a minimum temperature of 9.6 degree Celsius, around six notches below normal.

Capital Ranchi recorded a minimum temperature of 10.6 degree Celsius, two points below normal, while Steel City Jamshedpur recorded a minimum temperature of 11.7 degree Celsius, which was four notches below normal.

Sub-10 chill prevailed in several places, including Daltonganj, Kanke on the outskirts of Ranchi, Khunti and Ramgarh. As per Met data, all these places recorded minimum temperatures of around 9 degree Celsius.

But minimum temperatures in Pakur, Sahebganj and several other districts in Santhal Pargana region witnessed a rising trend.