Fourth thunderstorm in 4 days keeps city cool; dry spell ahead

Kolkata: Another thunderstorm lashed the city on Wednesday evening, extending the spell of pleasant weather. The Met office has forecast one or two spells of rain on Thursday, though with lower intensity, before conditions turn dry from Friday. Apart from Kolkata, several south Bengal districts, including Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, also received rain.The Alipore Met office recorded 8 mm of rain within an hour during the sharp spell that began around 7.30 pm. Gusty winds accompanying the rain pulled down the temperature by several degrees almost instantly.The day had begun bright and sunny, but clouds gathered by late afternoon. Within half an hour of the Met office issuing a red alert for Kolkata, Howrah and adjoining districts, squally winds swept through the city around 7.30 pm, followed by rain and thunder. The spell lasted for nearly an hour."We expect one or two spells of rain on Thursday, but with less intensity. With no fresh weather system developing, conditions are likely to turn sunny from Friday," said H R Biswas, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.According to Met sources, wind speeds averaged around 50 kmph in the southern parts of the city, while higher speeds were recorded in northern and eastern areas.Rain over the past four days has kept temperatures below normal. The maximum temperature on Wednesday was 31°C, 4.2 degrees below normal, dropping further to around 25°C during the storm. The minimum stood at 21.8°C, 3.4 degrees below normal. Biswas said temperatures would rise gradually from Friday.