Vehicles switch on their headlamps to manoeuvre in the rain in Patna on Thursday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Sept. 1: Residents got respite from a week of scorching heat when cool gusty winds accompanied by a sharp rain hit the capital towards dusk.

Around 5.30pm today, the overcast sky was suddenly lit by streaks of lightning. It was followed by thundershowers. Commuters were caught unawares on the thoroughfares but no one complained. “Hot and humid conditions over the past few days made me sweat profusely. So, I don’t mind getting drenched in the rain rather than in sweat,” said Asim Hamid, who had taken shelter under a tree on Bailey Road.

The thundershowers also caused the power supply to trip in some of the western suburbs of the city for several hours. The power supply was affected for four hours owing to tripping of two feeders — Danapur II and Khagaul II. The Danapur II feeder supplies power to Danapur, whereas the Khagaul II feeder supplies power to Ashiana, Rajabazaar, IGIMS, Patliputra, Kurji, some parts of Digha and Rajiv Nagar, Indrapuri and Kesri Nagar. The power went off around 5.30pm owing to heavy shower and high-speed winds but the power supply could not be restored till the filing of the report.

Weathermen, on the other hand, claimed that the gusty winds, accompanied by cloud formation and thundershowers, are localised and the strong revival of monsoon is still awaited. “Atmospheric instability and moisture feeding over Patna lead to local development of thunderclouds and gusty easterly winds of maximum velocity of 64km per hour on Tuesday around 5.30pm. The high speed winds were followed by thundershowers. This thundershower eased high levels of heat observed in the past few days,” said Animesh Chanda, the director of the Patna Met department. The state capital received 8.2mm of rainfall in the evening, while the day’s maximum temperature was recorded at 34.1ºC.

“There has been no rainfall in Patna since August 26 (1.8mm) as the monsoon trough line is south of its normal position and a strong revival of monsoon in the state capital is expected only when the trough line shifts northward. Further, the state has received almost normal rainfall in the monsoon season till date,” added Chanda.

The sudden change in the weather, however, succeeded in providing temporary relief to the citizens as the temperature dropped.

“The scorching heat and high humidity conditions over the past few days had made us restless. However, gusty winds and the sharp rainfall proved to be a life-saver. Moreover, I was so tempted that I took an evening walk in the shower in our colony park,” said Vikas Kumar, a resident of Ashiana Nagar.