Respite from heat for Bhopal, hailstorm warning for 25 dists

Bhopal: Thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds lashed Madhya Pradesh on Thursday and Friday, delivering a sharp respite from the heat across the state as multiple weather systems collided overhead.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of more rough weather through the weekend, issuing alerts for thunderstorms and lightning accompanied by hailstorms and strong winds in seven northern and eastern districts: Datia, Bhind, Seoni, Mandla, Balaghat, Tikamgarh and Niwari. A broader caution for thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds blanketed 25 districts, including Bhopal, Sheopur, Singrauli, Sidhi, Rewa, Mauganj, Satna, Anuppur, Shahdol, Umaria, Dindori, Katni, Panna, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Maihar, Vidisha, Raisen, Narmadapuram, Betul, Ashoknagar, Shivpuri, Gwalior, Morena, Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Chhindwara, Sagar and Pandhurna. Rainfall or drizzle with thunderstorms loomed possible in nearly the same expansive stretch.Driving the turbulence: a western disturbance manifesting as a trough stretching from north Pakistan to southwest Madhya Pradesh across Punjab and Rajasthan between 3.1 and 12.6 kilometers above mean sea level. Persistent cyclonic circulations hovered over Haryana at 1.5 km, northwest Madhya Pradesh and south Uttar Pradesh at 0.9 km, with troughs linking to Gujarat, Vidarbha and as far as Nagaland via Jharkhand and West Bengal. Fresh disturbances eyed northwest India from March 22, intensifying by March 26.Bhopal logged a daytime high of 29.4 degrees Celsius on Friday — six degrees below normal — and a nighttime low of 16.6 degrees, two degrees under average. Saturday promised partly cloudy skies, 30 degrees daytime and 18 degrees nighttime, with 12 kph winds.In the past day through Friday 8.30 am, hailstorms hit Alirajpur, Badwani, Betul, Khandwa, Agar, Vidisha, Chhindwara, Jabalpur, Damoh, Seoni and Chhatarpur. Rainfall topped 19 mm in Badnawar; gusts peaked at 74 kph in Agar.