A blanket of cloud persisted over the city sky for a better part of Friday and the sun made rare appearances.
More than once, showers looked imminent but the Met office recorded zero rain in Alipore — which serves as the official entry for Kolkata — till 6.30pm.
The conditions, however, were overcast and gloomy throughout the day.
The sky was clear and the weather bright and sunny on Thursday afternoon. The Met office attributed the overnight change in conditions to a cyclonic circulation over the neighbouring district of Odisha.
The overcast conditions are likely to persist for 48 hours, according to the forecast. The sky is expected to start clearing up from Sunday.
“A cyclonic circulation has formed over Odisha. There is moisture incursion because of the system. As a result, clouds took over the sky,” said a Met official.
“Purba and Paschim Medinipur, the districts adjoining Odisha, are likely to get rain. The coastal areas of South 24-Parganas might also get some rain. Kolkata is unlikely to get much rain but a drizzle or two is not ruled out,” the official said.
The cloud cover kept the Celsius under check on Friday.
A cold spell had marked the start of this week as the northwesterly winds made a comeback to the city after a prolonged warm spell.
On February 12 (Sunday), the minimum temperature in Kolkata was 21.8 degrees Celsius. The cold winds dragged it down to 15.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, on Wednesday.
The Celsius started to rise from Thursday, in keeping with the forecast. At 16.3 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature was still a couple of notches below normal on Thursday.
On Friday, the minimum temperature was 18.3 degrees Celsius, usual for late February. But the day felt cooler because the clouds kept the day temperature under control.
The maximum temperature was around 29 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal. For a bulk of the day, the sun was hidden. As a result, the day felt cooler, said the Met official.