Pre-monsoon showers in isolated locations in Maharashtra

PUNE: Isolated locations in Maharashtra, including areas of Kolhapur and Sangli, recorded moderate to light pre-monsoon showers during the 24-hour period till Friday morning, as well as during the remainder of the day, causing a significant drop in maximum temperatures in some areas, IMD data showed.
Ajara in Kolhapur received 70mm rainfall in the 24 hours till 8.30am on Friday. From 8.30am-5.30pm on Friday, Kolhapur received 16mm more rainfall, while that in Mahabaleshwar stood at 0.6mm, Sangli at 22mm, Ratnagiri at 2mm and Parbhani at 8mm.

From May 23, however, rainfall is likely to reduce significantly in state. Anupam Kashyapi, head of weather forecasting division, IMD, Pune, said most parts of Maharashtra were expected to be nearly dry (except areas of Konkan) from May 23 for a few days, though partly cloudy conditions might continue from time to time.
"Parts of Konkan-Goa and Madhya Maharashtra, also Pune district, have isolated very light to light rain forecast on Saturday too. Isolated very light to light rains may occur in Marathwada on Saturday. After that, pre-monsoon rainfall may reduce for some days," he said.
The state has been under the influence of moderately strong westerly winds coming from the Arabian sea. A north-south trough that was present from central Madhya Pradesh to interior Tamil Nadu across Marathwada and interior Karnataka was also influencing weather. "Westerly winds' strength off Maharashtra coast is likely to reduce from May 22, which would be responsible for somewhat dry weather in the state thereafter due to less moisture incursion," Kashyapi said.
The on and off light rain/partly cloudy skies have led to a significant drop in day temperatures in many parts.
Maximum temperature in Shivajinagar plunged to the season's lowest at 32.6°C, over 4°C below normal, on Friday. Day temperature in Kolhapur dropped below normal by a staggering 12°C on Friday, to 23.1°C. Mahabaleshwar's day temperature dropped over 9°C below normal to 20.4°C. Similar negative anomalies were seen in other locations in Madhya Maharashtra on Friday.
In Kolhapur city, the intensity of rain was moderate till it stopped around 5pm. Waterlogging was reported in the city's low-lying areas, such as Parekh Railway bridge and CPR Chowk. The Jayanti nullah has started overflowing and its water is meeting the Panchganga river.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in Kolhapur on Friday dropped to 23.1oCand 20.9oC, respectively. The lowest maximum temperature in the city was registered in May 2013 at 26.9oC.
Manjit Yadav, a banking professional. said, "The sudden drop in the temperature and the incessant rain gave the city the feel of a hill station. The rainfall came as a major relief and the temperature had been hovering around the 40oC-mark for quite some time."
The maximum temperature in Nashik drastically dropped by 4.8 notches within 24 hours to 34.2oC on Friday, much to the relief of the citizens waking up to a cloudy condition after days of sweltering heat.
On Thursday, the maximum temperature of the north Maharashtra city had increased by two degrees to 39oC. The high relative humidity had made the situation worse for the citizens.