PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, May 21: The season’s sixth Nor’wester hit Jamshedpur and several other parts of Jharkhand on Saturday, resulting in lightning and thundershowers.
The storm originated from the Chhotanagpur plateau area this afternoon and covered places like Gumla, Lohardaga, Ramgarh and Bokaro before hitting the eastern part of Ranchi and later Khunti, Jamshedpur and other parts of Kolhan and Simdega on Saturday afternoon with wind speeds touching 40 Kmph.
The storm, which was accompanied by light rain and lightning, brought respite from the sweltering heat.
Weathermen said excessive heat coupled with a prevailing East-West trough triggered the Nor’wester.
Daltonganj and other districts in northwestern Jharkhand which have been experiencing oppressive heat for the last few days also experienced the storm around the same time, while Ramgarh experienced a one-minute squall.
Several places witnessed sharp showers while Ranchi and its adjoining areas where the impact of the storm was less witnessed rainfall in traces.
IMD’s Ranchi Met Centre deputy director Abhishek Anand said, “The Nor’wester gained momentum due to the trough. A partly cloudy sky with light rain and thunderstorm is also expected at isolated places over Jharkhand during the next two days.”
A weather analyst at the Patna Meteorological Centre said, “Our observations indicated lightning and thundershowers in different areas of Jharkhand with varying wind speed.”
The day temperatures witnessed a sudden drop in several districts of Jharkhand due to the thundershowers.