Jamshedpur: The Met department has predicted a dry spell in Jharkhand till Friday with the maximum temperature climbing by four degrees Celsius above normal in many parts, including Jamshedpur, Daltongunj, Dumka and Hazaribagh.

"The mercury will witness a rising trend in the absence of any weather system. The north-south trough stretched between sub-Himalayan West Bengal to north Chhattisgarh has become weak. Thundershower activity might take place this weekend (March 10) due to an approaching western disturbance," said Upendra Srivastava, a senior official of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre.

The north-south trough, coupled with a cyclonic circulation, had resulted in thundershowers at several places, including Ranchi on Monday. As per Met data, maximum temperatures witnessed a fall in most parts of Jharkhand due to cloud cover and thundershowers.

On Tuesday, however, maximum readings witnessed a rise in most places. The Celsius is expected to rise another 2-3 degree Celsius in the next 72-hours, weathermen in Ranchi said.

Ranchi recorded a maximum temperature of around 31 degree Celsius on Tuesday against Monday's 29.2 degrees. The maximum reading in the capital was around a notch above normal on Tuesday.

Jamshedpur continued to record over 34 degree Celsius for the second consecutive day. According to the forecast, the steel city was expected to witness a three degree rise in day temperatures in next 48 hours or so.

Monday's maximum reading was two notches above normal.

In Daltonganj too the day reading witnessed a rise. The local IMD observatory in Daltonganj recorded around 33 degree Celsius against Monday's 28.7 degrees. Tuesday's maximum reading in Daltonganj was three notches above normal.

Several other districts, including Hazaribagh, Koderma, Bokaro, Deoghar, Ramgarh and Dhanbad, witnessed a rising trend in maximum readings. Weathermen said that the wind pattern over Jharkhand was fluctuating between north-westerly and westerly, which would push up the day temperature.