PUNE: Dense fog engulfed parts of the state on Friday morning reducing the visibility to as low as 200 metres in Matheran, while the Met department hinted at thunderstorm accompanied with lightning at isolated places in Madhya Maharashtra till Sunday and very light rain in Pune on Saturday and Monday.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday said there could be instances of hail with thunder and lightning in isolated parts of north Madhya Maharashtra on Saturday under the influence of a cyclonic circulation over the region and likely wind confluence over the central parts of the country in the lower tropospheric levels.
There was abrupt change in weather in Madhya Maharashtra recently from chilly to cloudy conditions and foggy mornings. An IMD official said, “As per our daily weather report, dense fog at isolated places was reported from parts of Madhya Maharashtra from 5.30pm on Thursday till 8.30am on Friday, though Matheran was the only station mentioned in report to have recorded fog in the state.”
On the likelihood of fog development in the city on Saturday, the official said, “There has been significant moisture incursion into Pune and other parts of the state. Relative humidity was 65% in Shivajinagar, as high as 71% in Pashan and 56% in Lohegaon on Friday evening, indicating a good volume of moisture. If the night temperature dips significantly, then there may be some fog development. If it does not, there would no fog development. That said, we have significant clouding over Pune. It may hamper decline in night temperature, reducing the chances of fog formation.”
He said looking at the cloud development over Pune, the city might witness light rain on Saturday, eliminating the chances of fog formation.
The minimum temperature in Shivajinagar climbed up to 18.2°C on Friday because of moisture incursion and increase in night clouding. It was 19.5°C in Lohegaon and 18.1°C in Pashan on Friday. Clouding during a good part of the day on Friday brought down the maximum temperature to 28.8°C in Shivajinagar and 29.1°C in Lohegaon.