The umbrella can rest in the corner for now. The early morning drizzle in the city on Thursday was hardly a precursor to a sunny weekend in store, claimed weathermen.

School students and health freaks, who went out in the morning, encountered precipitation. “When I woke up, it was cloudy. But by the time my daughter got ready to go out, it was drizzling,” said Jagdeo Path resident Neha Kumari.

She added: “It wasn’t raining. But as we were not carrying an umbrella, my daughter’s woollens got wet and she had to wear those for the rest of the day.”

Those who woke up late missed the wet weather though. By 10am, the sun came out and the clouds had disappeared.

Life moved on as usual: the schedule at Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport remained unaffected. Jet Airways flight 9W 2513 from Ahmedabad was the first one to land at 11.30am.

The rain did not manage to usher in a dip in the temperature either. In fact, the cloud cover prevented the heat from escaping as a result of which the minimum temperature was 16°C — six degrees above normal. It was warmer than Wednesday, when the minimum temperature was 14.8°C.

The clouds disappeared but the rain could lead to a colder Friday. According to the Met department forecast, the minimum temperature on Friday would be 11°C — five degrees less than Thursday.

The western disturbance that caused snowfall in western Himalayas and a downpour in Delhi earlier this week caused “traces” of rainfall in the state capital on Thursday morning.

Ashish Sen, director, India Meteorological Department, Patna, said: “Similar rainfall has been observed in some parts of northwest Bihar as well. However, the cloud cover was not too deep. The western disturbance has shifted towards Nepal passing through Uttar Pradesh. Thus, we are expecting clear and bright skies from tomorrow (Friday).”

Though rainfall in winter is usually followed by fog in the morning, weathermen claimed that the level of moisture in the atmosphere was not enough for it. “Considering the prevailing moisture content in the air, we expect there might be light fog on Friday morning. The fog cover would be thicker only if the minimum temperature falls below 11°C,” said Sen.

Asked about the expected departure of winter, the Met department director said: “The season would depart when the minimum temperature is 13°C or more for a week. It will be around February 13 or 14 when we would have such weather. Till then, the minimum temperature would be around 11°C.”