J&K to Karnataka, rare storm and rain drench India

NEW DELHI: An unusually potent storm system lashed India over the weekend, bringing copious rain across a large swathe of the country, from J&K to Karnataka, in what Met officials described as a rare occurrence for this time of the year.

The system is expected to blow over by Tuesday morning, but not before it drenches most of north and central India, as well as parts of the south, and dumps a few feet of fresh snow in the Himalayas.

"There was intermittent, heavy rainfall across large parts of the country on Sunday. Such widespread rain at this time of the year is not very common. The wet weather in north and central India will continue for at least another day," said B P Yadav, director, India Meteorological Department.

Between 8.30am and 5.30pm, around 40mm of rain was recorded in Kanpur (UP), Katra (J&K) and Bhavnagar (Gujarat) while Delhi (Ridge), Pachmarhi (MP) and Ratnagiri saw close to 30mm. Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad also had wet weather.

Experts said the rains were a result of a rare confluence of factors. "It started with a western disturbance (WD) coming over north India, which is not unusual for this time of the year," Yadav said.

It was a strong WD that induced a cyclonic circulation over Saurashtra and Kutchh. "Such circulations usually form over Rajasthan. But this one formed at a more southern location, which caused the WD to go deeper into central India and the southern peninsula," Yadav said.

Simultaneously, winds rushed in from central Arabian Sea, and to a lesser extent from Bay Bengal, intensifying the rain over the region. The WD is expected to move eastwards, taking the wet weather to eastern India on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Day temperatures are likely to drop in north and central India, bringing a slight chill ahead of the Holi festival. The maximum temperature in Delhi on Sunday was 19 degrees Celsius, a good eight notches below normal. Said Yadav, "Since the rains were widespread, it will lead to a fall in maximum temperatures over the next few days."

There were various reports of damage to standing crops due to the intensity of rain. The crops that were hit included wheat, onion, grapes and some course grains.