Met office predicts spells of thunderstorms this weekend in Kolkata

KOLKATA: The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) on Wednesday predicted a 'high chance' of at least two isolated spells of thunderstorms in Kolkata between March 18 to March 20, lasting 15-30 minutes each.
The city may also get rain between March 16-17, although the likelihood and severity is significantly lower, weathermen said. RMC director G K Das said it was too early to ascertain if the storms will correspond with nor'wester conditions.However, after observing certain rainfall and wind criteria, the RMC will confirm if any of the thunderstorms between March 16-20 in Kolkata are nor'westers.
The city's minimum temperature rose from 24.4°C to 25°C on Wednesday. The maximum decreased from 33.3°C to 32.8°C on Wednesday. On Wednesday, the Alipore Met office issued hourly updates on thunderstorm predictions in Bengal, alerting of the need for safety precautions in South 24 Parganas, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar. Hailstorms and winds of 40-50 kmph are predicted in at least one or two places in Birbhum, Murshidabad and East Burdwan on Friday.
The western disturbance is the cause of the meteorological events set to take place this week, weathermen said. While damage to crops are imminent in north Bengal, the Met office advised residents to stay indoors and use the Damini app to track real-time alerts.