A girl caught in Thursday’s drizzle. Picture by Sachin

Cloudy skies and intermittent rain on Thursday under the influence of a depression over the Bay of Bengal and a static trough line passing though the region hinted at a wet weekend ahead.

Dense clouds hovered over the city skies from the morning because of the twin weather systems. Intermittent rain followed, giving residents relief from the sultry weather but flight operations were not affected at Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport.

Weathermen said the cloud cover would persist on the city skies till next mid-week.

Residents enjoyed the cool breeze right from the morning. The drizzle started around 10am — the peak office hours — but hardly anyone complained about getting drenched.

“Patna seemed like a hill station today (Thursday). Over the past two days, my shirt used to get drenched with sweat by the time I reached office on my bike but today (Thursday) I enjoyed the ride,” said Pratyush Kumar, a resident of Patel Nagar.

Several youngsters headed to Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park (zoo) to enjoy the soothing weather amid greenery. “As the weather was cool, I went to the zoo with my two friends,” said Divya Kumari, a resident of Boring Road.

Weathermen attributed the overcast and rainy conditions to the depression over the Bay of Bengal and the static trough line between Madhya Pradesh and Bay of Bengal.

“The cyclonic circulation that developed over the Bay of Bengal near the Bangladesh border on Tuesday turned into a depression while reaching the coastal areas of Bengal on Thursday and is moving towards Jharkhand. Besides, the static trough line was still lying between Madhya Pradesh and the coastal areas of Bay of Bengal on Thursday. The combined effect of these two weather systems triggered rainfall in the city and many districts in north-east Bihar on Thursday,” said Ashish Sen, director, India Meteorological Department, Patna.

Sen said there could be moderate rainfall in most parts of the state on Friday. “The depression is expected to develop into a low pressure area while entering Bihar on Friday, prompting moderate rainfall in most parts of the state. This spell of rain, along with the possibility of isolated thunderstorm in most parts of the state, is expected to continue till June 25,” he said.

“Usually monsoon arrives in Bihar on June 13. But it might reach the state in advance this year because of the ongoing rainfall,” said Sen.