Gusty winds and thunderstorms swept parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, bringing rain to several districts and a sharp change in weather after days of heat and humidity. Winds touched 76 kmph in Kanpur, while isolated heavy rain was reported in the Terai region.
Sultanpur recorded 25.2 mm rainfall, followed by Ghazipur at 22.2 mm, Kanpur city at 19.8 mm and Gorakhpur at 6.8 mm.
The rain brought relief from hot and humid conditions but also caused waterlogging at several places and disrupted traffic. The weather activity is likely to continue in the eastern region for the next 24 hours before easing, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Winds reached 68 kmph at Prayagpur in Bahraich, 65 kmph at Rehara Bazar in Balrampur, 63 kmph at Meerpur in Bahraich, 61 kmph in Shrawasti, 57 kmph in Kanpur Dehat, 54 kmph in Unnao and 50 kmph each in Gonda and Siddharthnagar, according to IMD data. The maximum temperature in Gorakhpur dropped to 30.7°C following the rainfall.
“Following the withdrawal of the monsoon from the state, a weather system developed due to the interaction between moist low-level easterly winds and dry westerly/north-westerly winds associated with a mid-tropospheric western disturbance,” said Atul Kumar Singh, senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Lucknow. Weather scientist Kailash Pandey said the weather was likely to remain partly cloudy, with chances of further rain and thunderstorms. In Gorakhpur and adjoining districts, the weather changed abruptly on Wednesday afternoon as thunderstorms and heavy rain lashed several areas.
