A cyclonic circulation hovering over Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Chhattisgarh triggered widespread thunderstorm and rain across Jharkhand on Sunday.

Weathermen said the cyclonic circulation extending 1.5km above the mean sea level, coupled with a trough stretched from eastern Uttar Pradesh to Vidarbha, resulted in widespread rain accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Jamshedpur and its adjoining areas in Kolhan recorded over 15mm rain on Sunday evening while Ranchi witnessed about 5mm. Several other districts, including Hazaribagh, Koderma, Deoghar, Pakur, Garhwa, Lohardaga, Ramgarh, Bokaro, Khunti, Gumla and Simdega, also experienced rain on Sunday.

Rain at Sakchi in Jamshedpur on Sunday evening. Picture by Bhola Prasad

IMD's Ranchi Meteorological Centre forecast thunderstorm and lightning to conitue for the next four days till Thursday, June 3. The Met department also predicted a generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rain at isolated places over north-east, central and south-east Jharkhand till Thursday.

Met data suggested that the maximum temperature was below normal in most parts of the state on Sunday. Ranchi and Daltonganj recorded maximum temperature of 33 degree Celsius, while Jamshedpur recorded a day's reading of 35 degree Celsius. The day's reading in Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribagh and elsewhere were much below normal.

Weathermen at IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore in Calcutta said the cyclonic circulation was resulting in heavy moisture incursion and cloud formation over Jharkhand. " Satellite pictures and wind chart analysis indicated thunderstorm and rainfall activity over Jharkhand for the next three to four days," said a duty officer at the Calcutta Met Centre, adding that they have also issued an alert of moderate to heavy lightning over Jharkhand for the next 72 hours or so.