Patna, Jan. 1: Weathermen were spot-on in their prediction of rain on the opening day of 2012. For the second consecutive year, shower played spoilsport on the New Year day.

The shower came as a surprise to most because the last day of the year bygone was warm and sunny. When the city was rocking to welcome the New Year after the clock struck 12, dark rain-bearing clouds started surfacing on the city skies. They were in action when most of the citizens were sleeping.

Several residents of the state capital woke up to the sound of pitter-patter this morning. The drizzle continued throughout the day, almost, compelling most of the people to stay indoors.

Pranav Kumar, a resident of Gardanibagh, said: “The past few days had been bright and sunny and we never thought the weather would deteriorate all of a sudden on the New Year day. Contrary to the plan of going to my native place in Muzaffarpur, I was confined at home throughout. I could have taken the family to a mall or some other place. But I preferred not to because the winter rain is considered not good for health.”

The state capital recorded 6mm rainfall till 5.30pm. The minimum temperature was 11.6°C, three degrees above normal.

Met officials said the precipitation on the first day of the year was the fallout of cyclone Thane, which hit the coastal line of Tamil Nadu on Saturday. Its outer periphery of clouds led to rainfall in most parts of Bihar, including the state capital.

“After originating from the Bay of Bengal, Thane hit the Tamil Nadu coastal line yesterday. Its outer periphery of clouds covered Bihar and some parts of Jharkhand last night and that triggered the rainfall. The rain-bearing clouds will shift and the skies will be clear tomorrow,” said Ashish Sen, the director of Patna Met department.

An extreme cold weather spell is also expected. “The western disturbance over Punjab at present is moving towards Uttar Pradesh. It is likely to reach northern Bihar after three days. In between, there will a warm spell. Temperatures will dip after western disturbance reaches Bihar,” added Sen.