PATNA: Several north Bihar districts, such as Saran, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Darbhanga and Samastipur, witnessed hailstorm on Saturday. Some other districts, including Patna, experienced thunder squall during the day.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a forecast for scattered showers along with thunderstorm and gusty winds in the state, especially in the northern districts, at least over the next two days.
In its all-India weather forecast issued on Saturday, the IMD stated that major parts of the country are likely to experience thundershowers from April 7 to 12. It further stated that thunder squalls and isolated hailstorm are very likely over parts of east and northeast India till April 9.
The prevailing weather disturbances have been attributed to the combined impact of several weather systems. A statement from IMD said a feeble western disturbance was lying over north Pakistan and adjoining Jammu and Kashmir and another western disturbance was likely to affect western Himalayan region from April 8 onwards.
Besides, intense heating over most parts of the country during past several days along with moisture incursion over east and adjoining central India from Bay of Bengal and over plains of northwest India and adjoining areas of central peninsular India from Arabian Sea are responsible for recurrent thundershowers and hailstorms.
An official at Patna Meteorological Centre said satellite imagery reflected wide scale accumulation of cloud mass over Nepal and the Himalayas. “There is a strong chance of thunderstorm to be experienced in north Bihar in the next few days,” he said.
Private weather agency Skymet too predicted rain and thundershower with squally winds in parts of the state on Sunday. “A trough is extending from West Rajasthan to Gangetic West Bengal across Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand,” it said.
Meanwhile, Muzaffarpur district agriculture department has asked the BEOs to assess the extent of damages caused to standing crops and fruit trees due to hailstorms. Mango and wheat crops sustained most of the damage in Muzaffarpur. In Saran district, maize crops, mango blossoms and vegetables were severely damaged.
Weather disturbance on Saturday brought down the maximum temperature below normal (5.1°C or less) at many places in the state.
PATCH
Woman dies in hailstorm
An elderly woman died in a hailstorm that hit Vaishali district on Saturday. The woman, Samundari Devi, died on the spot when heavy lumps of ice fell on her while she was working in the fields at Senduari village in the district.
