Mini cloudburst triggers 55mm rainfall in less than 2 hours

PUNE: A “mini cloudburst” triggered the first heavy showers this monsoon as the city received 55mm of rain within a short span of one-and-a-half hours on Thursday.
Experts said clouds over 5km in height over Pune could have brought in such an intense shower, enough to cause water logging in areas such as Shivajinagar, Koregaon Park, Pashan, Pimpri, Aundh, Baner and Pimple Saudagar.



Apart from other parameters, rainfall more than 100mm in an hour is Conventionally considered as a cloudburst. J R Kulkarni, a retired Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) scientist and founder of the All India Internet Weather Radio Station, described Thursday’s downpour as a “mini cloudburst”. He said a phenomenon can be termed as a “mini cloudburst“ when more than 50mm of rain and less than 100mm is registered within two-three hours.

Among cities where the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has rain gauges, Buldhana recorded the maximum rain, 68mm, from 8:30am to 5:30pm.

“Where ever it rained, including parts of Vidarbha, Pune and Nashik, it was mostly thundershowers. Thundershowers occur when the cloud depth is more and due to the increased convection and moisture incursion. From Friday, we expect rainfall intensity to increase over the parts of peninsula India, including Maharashtra as well as Pune,” said A K Srivastava, head of the IMD’s Climate Monitoring and Analysis Group.

Kulkarni said convection-led clouds develop over the coast of the Arabian Sea. “These clouds began moving inland and crossed Mumbai, Pune, Satara and other regions. Thursday’s showers were intense only in some areas, including Pune, as some portions in a large cloud mass grew in height. Clouds that grow in height produce intense rain. This could have occurred over Pune too. Such showers are usually accompanied with squally weather and strong winds,” he said.

Private weather forecaster Skymet stated that rain was likely to continue over Vidarbha and adjoining Marathwada for the next two to three days. The rainfall was also likely to increase over the north Konkan region, Goa and Mumbai in the next 24-48 hours.

Many parts of Maharashtra will also start receiving good rain because of the active monsoon conditions in another 48 hours. Skymet forecast that cities such as Ratnagiri, Vengurla and Harnai may see heavy rain, while moderate showers are likely likely in Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Washim, Yavatmal, Parbhani and Nanded.