The city woke up to the season’s first hint of chill on Wednesday.

The minimum temperature dropped three notches over the past 24 hours to 15.3 degrees on Wednesday as cold winds from north India got unhindered access to the city.

The Celsius is likely to slide to 13 degrees on Thursday and remain around that over the weekend, the Met office said.

Wednesday was the season’s coldest day so far.

A Western Disturbance — a storm that generates in the Mediterranean region — that had been moving eastwards from Kashmir had been robbing the city of its December chill.

“The system had weakened during its journey. By the time it crossed the western districts of Bengal, it had dissipated,” said Ganesh Kumar Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Calcutta.

“The moment I stepped out of home, I felt the bite of cold wind. I went back and got a jumper,” said Rhea Chakraborty, 27. Bibhas Ghosh, 39, felt the chill while riding his bike on the EM Bypass from his Panchasayar home to his office in Sector V. “I was feeling cold despite wearing a jacket,” said the software professional.

Winter is usually declared in the second week of December, when the minimum temperature remains 16 degrees Celsius or lower for a few days at a stretch.