Friday weather update: IMD warns of rain, thunderstorms in several states; what to expect in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a pan-India weather alert for Friday, March 20, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds, and rain across multiple regions.

In its latest advisory, the IMD said scattered thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds are likely to continue over the Western Himalayan region and the plains of northwest India till March 20. Similar conditions may persist over central and eastern parts of the country till March 22.

Northwest India

Northwest India is expected to witness fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall or snowfall, along with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds (40–50 kmph) over the Western Himalayan region on March 20.


Isolated heavy rainfall or snowfall is likely over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Uttar Pradesh and East Rajasthan may see light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds (40–50 kmph, gusting up to 60 kmph) on Friday.

Thundersqualls (50–70 kmph) are likely at isolated places in Uttarakhand, while hailstorm activity is expected in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Northeast India

Thunderstorms and lightning are likely over Northeast India over the next five days, as per the weather department.

East & Central India

Widespread light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds (30–50 kmph) is likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim between March 19 and 23.

Heavy rainfall is expected between March 19 and 21, with very heavy rainfall likely on March 20.

Eastern and central regions may also witness thundersqualls (up to 80 kmph) and isolated hailstorms across states including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Odisha.

South Peninsular India

Light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds is likely over Kerala, Interior Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu over the next few days. Lightning activity is also expected in several southern states.

West India

Parts of Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada may see light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds on March 20 and 21, while Konkan and Goa could witness lightning activity.

City-wise forecast

• Delhi: Under a yellow alert, the city is expected to see a generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds (30–50 kmph) from morning through evening.
  
  
• Mumbai: Likely to remain mostly sunny and humid, with no rainfall expected.
  
  
• Bengaluru: Expected to see sunny weather.
  
  
• Chennai: No rainfall forecast; the city may experience severe heat.
  
  
• Kolkata: Thunderstorms are likely on Friday.