Bhubaneswar, Feb. 12: Hailstorm accompanied by heavy rain, which lashed the city in the afternoon, took everybody by surprise.
The city recorded a rainfall of 15.4 mm, which brought down the temperature significantly.
The storm that lasted around half an hour had a windspeed of 47kmph. Roads in many areas were covered with shiny white hailstones.
Officials in the regional meteorological centre called it a thunder squall, which they said, was triggered by the formation of two cyclonic circulations overGangetic West Bengal and neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
"The cold breeze flowing in from that region and a rise in the day temperature here was favourable for thunder squall," said director of meteorological centre Sarat Chandra Sahu.
Met officials have predicted that in the next 24 hours, many parts of coastal Odisha may witness thundersquall accompanied with hail. Wind speed may reach 60kmph.
on Thursday. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati
"I was returning from my college when the sky suddenly turned dark and it started raining. We were all surprised as this is not the time when we experience shower," said Anurag Sharma, an engineering student.
Commuters were seen running for cover as the storm lashed the city. "My first impression was that it was a passing shower. However, it gradually became stronger and the hailstorm made it all the more difficult," said Arbind Dehury, a commuter.
Shortly after the rain stopped, youngsters in many areas of the capital rushed out to collect and click pictures of hail stones. "Our area was covered with hailstones and the ground just turned white. It looked lovely," said Lucy Priyadarshini, a resident of Pokhariput.
Day and night temperatures are likely to come down by two degrees due to the thunder squall.
Bhubaneswar today recorded a maximum temperature of 31.6°C. The weathermen forecast that the day temperature would rise again fromFebruary 15.
Several areas of the state, including Paradip, Chandbali and Sambalpur, also experienced rainfall today. Yesterday it had rained in areas such as Talcher, Angul, Jharsuguda and Keonjhar. Weathermen predict light to moderate rain at a few places over north Odisha and south Odisha in the next 24 hours.
