A woman tries to protect a child from rain in Patna City on Sunday. Picture by Sachin

The monsoon has retreated but showers continued to drench the city on Sunday.

The southwest monsoon withdrew from Bihar on Saturday. On Sunday morning, a steady downpour threw a wet blanket on the best-laid weekend plans of the residents.

A cyclonic circulation with a periphery of nearly 60km all around Patna led to a formation of low-level clouds. Around 31.4mm rainfall was recorded in the city.

The morning shower led to waterlogging in many low-lying areas of the city, like Patliputra, Gardanibagh, Lohanipur, Kankerbagh and Rajendra Nagar. The skies remained cloudy throughout the day but rain did not return after the morning downpour.

Though the weekend was wet, residents can expect clear skies when they go out to work on Monday.

Meteorologists described the mid-level clouds over the city on Sunday morning as altocumulus clouds.

“The height of the clouds from the earth’s surface was 300m to 750m. These are altocumulus clouds,” said Ashish Sen, director, India Meteorological Department, Patna.

He added that the clouds were formed because of a localised cyclonic circulation with its centre over Patna and a radius of 60km. “Such a weather system does not last for long. So, the rain stopped around 9am.”

Sen said: “The clouds and remaining moisture are expected to clear out within 24 hours. Clear skies and dry weather would prevail in Patna on Monday.”

Though their weekend plans went for a toss, residents enjoyed the pleasant weather on Sunday morning at home.

Mithapur resident Priya Raj enjoyed her morning cuppa amid the pitter-patter of rain.

“The weather was very pleasant in the morning. I put on some music and enjoyed the tea sitting on the balcony,” she said.

Many bunked their outing plans fearing the rain would return. But staying at home did not spoil their mood.

Prakash Kumar, a resident of the Boring Road area, said: “I usually go out on Sundays and was planning to go to Vaishali. But as it was raining in the morning, I decided to stay home. It was not boring, though. I spent quality time with my father and mother. We saw a movie on TV and had delicious chicken curry for lunch.”

The weekend rain was, however, bad for the movie business. Footfall at cinemas was low.

Abhishek Ranjan, unit manager, Cinepolis — the multiplex at P&M Mall, said: “The footfall this Sunday was less than 50 per cent of what it usually is on other Sundays. The footfall has been consistently low over the past weekend because of bad weather.”

Though Monday would be dry, it would be prudent for residents to carry umbrellas Tuesday onwards as a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal could bring precipitation to the city, said meteorologists.