3 days of hail & thunderstorm in Maharashtra from today

PUNE: Strong winds for short periods, hail and thunderstorms expected from Wednesday may damage rabi crops, injure people, as well as cattle, and cause marginal damage to vulnerable structures. IMD on Tuesday issued light to moderate rain warning with thunderstorms and hailstorms over interior Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and MP.
Farmers have been advised to harvest matured crops and store them in safe places. Anupam Kashyapi, head of weather forecasting division at IMD Pune, said that the zone of interaction of opposite winds results in local instability in the atmosphere leading to the formation of cumulonimbus clouds in isolated to scattered areas of the state.
"This, in turn, results in thundery activity, lightning, short-period strong winds and even hail. People must be watchful in the coming days as the cloud amount is expected to increase from Tuesday and chances of rain will go up from Wednesday," he added.
Isolated hailstorm activity is also expected over some districts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Thursday and Friday.
IMD has advised people to stay indoors and avoid travel if possible, especially during the afternoon and evening. People must not take shelter under trees, lie on concrete floors or lean against concrete walls. They should unplug electrical and electronic appliances, immediately get out of water bodies, and keep away from all objects that conduct electricity.
Farmers have been advised to provide support to banana plantations with bamboo sticks or polypropylene sticks and staking to newly planted vegetables or creepers.
The use of skirting bags or aluminium coated paper is recommended for grapes in Madhya Maharashtra to protect them from rain. Farmers should avoid irrigation and any kind of chemical spraying for a few days.