PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
Even as the the national Capital witnesses sizzling heat in the first fortnight of April, various parts of Uttarakhand have been witnessing light to moderate rain along with hail, which has brought the temperature down by a few notches. Light to moderate rain was witnessed in various parts of the State on Thursday.
The rainwater gushing in rivulets and channels draining rainwater displacing debris and encroachments led to reports in some media outlets of a cloudburst. However, the State Meteorological Centre director Bikram Singh said that there were no reports of any cloudburst in the State till late in the evening. Apart from light to moderate rain likely to occur at most places in all districts on Friday, the State Meteorological Centre has issued an orange warning (Be Prepared) regarding the possibility of thunderstorms accompanied with lightning/hail/gusty wind (40-50 kmph) likely to occur at isolated places in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Bageshwar and Almora districts today.
Thunderstorms accompanied with lightning/hail/squall (60-70 kmph gusting up to 80 kmph) are likely to occur at isolated places in Dehradun, Pauri, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar districts while thunderstorms accompanied with lightning/hail/squall (60-70 kmph gusting up to 80 kmph)/intense spell of rain likely to occur at isolated places in Nainital, Champawat and Pithoragarh districts.
The provisional State capital Dehradun is forecast to witness a partly to generally cloudy sky. Light to moderate rain/thunderstorms accompanied by lightning/hail/one or two intense spells of rain and squall (60-70 kmph) are also likely to occur. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be about 31 degrees Celsius and 18 degrees Celsius respectively in Dehradun today.
Responding to reports in some media outlets about cloudburst in some mountainous areas, the State Meteorological Centre director said that in most cases heavy rains are misrepresented as a cloudburst. Technically, it’s called a cloudburst if 100 millimetres of rain falls in an hour.
Meanwhile, the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded on Thursday were 33.2 degrees Celsius and 20.1 degrees Celsius respectively in Dehradun, 33.5 degrees Celsius and 19.2 degrees Celsius in Pantnagar, 21.5 degrees Celsius and 8.5 degrees Celsius in Mukteshwar and 21.6 and 10 degrees Celsius in New Tehri.
