Patna, Dec. 30: Those who have planned parties and outings to usher in the New Year, it would be prudent to carry an umbrella. Cloudy weather could play spoilsport, claim weathermen.

While residents of the state capital spent their last working day planning how to party hard, Patna Met department claimed cloud and fog cover could return to the city over the next few days.

Animesh Chanda, director, Patna Met department, said: “Low temperatures and fog were common in Patna throughout December. Over the past week, however, the weather eased a little. Less fog and clear skies helped the day temperature to rise.”

The pleasant weather, however, would be short-lived. Disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir is likely to send clouds to cover up Patna’s skies.

“Development of westerly disturbances over Jammu and Kashmir is likely to cause cloud cover with mild foggy weather over Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on January 1. The maximum temperature will be around 24°C and minimum temperature would be about 10°C,” Chanda said.

The predictions of the experts, however, did not manage to cloud the spirit of the revellers. A large number of people flocked to the Eco Park and the zoo to enjoy the bright sunshine with their friends on the penultimate day of 2011. Those who had to go to work were also busy planning parties and soiree.

“I was in no mood to work today,” said Om Prakash Yadav, a state government employee at the secretariat. “Apart from it being the last working day of the year, my mind was also occupied with the excitement for the New Year celebrations. I could see people enjoying with their friends and family at the nearby Eco Park. That augmented my mood to celebrate. I had a hearty lunch with my colleagues and shared plans for the coming year.”

Follow Yadav. Enjoy while the sun still shines because January could be a wet month. The cloudy weather could turn into the infamous January precipitation, accompanied by chilly winds in the state capital.

Chanda said: “Till the arrival of the disturbances, both the maximum and the minimum temperatures are likely to rise. However, later in January, the state capital could experience light to medium rainfall with chilly winds.”

This year, too, rainfall had been common in January. Party plans had to be readjusted because of rainfall on the first day of 2011. The precipitation led to extreme cold weather and chilly winds.

Report card

The year 2011 had cold, heat and rain in abundance.

Rainfall (0.5mm) on January 1, 2011, paved the way for two cold months. The minimum temperature remained below 13, recording the lowest — 3.7°C — on January 12.

Residents also had a tough time in the scorching heat conditions during summer. The maximum temperature soared to 41.3°C on June 5.

The rain-bearing winds had entered the eastern parts of the state on June 15 and covered the whole state by June 17. Patna received 906.5mm rainfall between June 1 and September 30, 19 per cent more than the expected rainfall in this period.