The city received a sharp spell of rain on Thursday afternoon as the remnant of Cyclone Montha, now a low-pressure area, moved from Chhattisgarh towards Madhya Pradesh.
More rain is expected on Friday and Saturday, with skies alternating between sunny and cloudy, similar to Wednesday, according to the forecast.
Thursday began sunny, but clouds gathered by afternoon, bringing heavy rain that blurred visibility and slowed traffic. The Met office recorded around 28mm of rainfall in Alipore.
Apart from Calcutta, districts in south Bengal including Howrah, Hooghly, North 24-Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, and Bankura were drenched. North Bengal also experienced widespread rain, prompting a “very heavy” rain alert for Friday.
“The depression, remnant of severe cyclonic storm Montha, over south Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas, moved north-northwestwards and weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area over Vidarbha and south Chhattisgarh around 8.30am on Thursday,” said a Met official.
By Thursday evening, the system was over central Chhattisgarh, the official added.
The system is expected to move northwards toward east Madhya Pradesh and north Chhattisgarh, weakening further over the next 24 hours, according to a Met bulletin.
Moisture from the system is causing the wet spell in Bengal. The rain is likely to continue until Saturday in south Bengal and Sunday in north Bengal.
Montha made landfall on Tuesday evening along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts (Puducherry) as a severe cyclonic storm.
Friday’s forecast for Calcutta is a “generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rain or thundershowers.”