Rain returned to the city on Friday but the wet spell is unlikely to last.
The weather is likely to improve from the second half of Saturday, according to the Met forecast.
The mercury is likely to dip as the sky clears but the chill is unlikely to last beyond 72 hours, said a Met official.
“A western disturbance has led to the formation of a trough of low pressure from Haryana to Bihar. There is another trough from Bihar to Telangana. The two systems and significant moisture flow from the Bay of Bengal are responsible for the clouds and the rain,” said G.K. Das, director, IMD, Kolkata.
Friday started on a gloomy note. The sky was dark in the morning and there were more than one spells of rain. The evening saw another spell, peppered by rumblings of thunder.
The morning rain caught many people off guard. Bikers and scooterists sought shelter under trees along Red Road as it rained sharply in the Maidan area.
The cloud cover dragged the day temperature down. The maximum temperature was 24.6 degrees, three notches below normal. Though the moisture shot up the minimum temperature to nearly 20 degrees, the day felt cold because of the overcast conditions.
The roads were reasonably deserted and footfall at malls and restaurants was on the lower side.
Till 8.30pm, the Met office recorded around 30mm of rain in Alipore.
The sky in Kolkata is likely to be partially cloudy in the first half of Saturday. “But it will start clearing in the afternoon. The minimum temperature is also likely to go down,” said a Met official.
The minimum temperature may go down to the 14-15 degree range by Sunday. The maximum temperature is likely to stray in the 25-degree range.
Thursday’s minimum was 19, three degrees above normal.
“Over the next three days, a five-degree fall is likely. But the chill is likely to stay only for a couple of days. After that, the temperature will rise again,” he said.
