A woman rides a two-wheeler during a shower in Patna on Thursday. Picture by Jai Prakash

The smiles of citizens left crestfallen by Wednesday’s scattered rainfall in the state capital were worth watching on Thursday.

Moderate rainfall spread across the city throughout the day definitely answered the prayers on everyone’s lips since the monsoon officially arrived in the state on June 19. Thursday was virtually the first rainy day of the season for the capital after the all-time lowest rainfall was recorded for the month of June in 50 years.

The rain started around 6am. Raindrops soon turned into drizzle. It continued for around half-an-hour. Dark clouds enveloped the sky in the next few hours but it did not rain.

Schoolchildren and most office-goers had reached their respective destinations when heavy rain started around 11.30am. It continued for two hours.

Commuters were caught unawares on the thoroughfares. Many bikers took shelter under roadside trees but no one seemed complaining. Lawyer Suresh Mishra, who was not carrying his raincoat, parked his two-wheeler under a tree on Bailey Road near Patna zoo to avoid getting drenched.

“It was drizzling when I left home around 11am but it started raining heavily on the way. Though I am late for an appointment with a client, there is no question of being annoyed because we have been waiting for this,” he said.

The rain stopped around 1.30pm but the sky turned even darker. Around 3pm, rain resumed. It was heavier and accompanied by thunders and lightning. The rain forced most motorists to switch on their headlamps.

“The visibility was poor. I felt like driving at night and had to switch on the headlamps and fog lights of my car,” said Rajan Pandey, a resident of Sheikhpura.

Though the residents seemed happy with the rain, it was not enough for the weathermen.

“We cannot term Thursday’s rainfall in Patna as a downpour, which denotes intense rainfall over a short period of time. For instance, if 1cm (10mm) of rain occurs in 10 minutes, it can be termed as a downpour. The Thursday’s rainfall in the city can only be termed as moderate rainfall,” said Ashish Sen, director (radar), India Met Department (IMD), Patna.

The Met department recorded 7mm of rainfall in Patna between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Thursday. Purnea recorded 7mm precipitation.

The Met department has forecast that the present spell of rainfall would continue till July 15 at least. Sen said the Patna skies would remain overcast for the next 48 hours with a few spells of rain.