Post-monsoon showers drench Kol, Met predicts more rain this week
Times of India | 17 October 2024The unexpected showers were triggered by a high-pressure zone over Bay of Bengal off the Bengal-Odisha coast, which is infusing moisture into south and north Bengal, said weathermen. “The heavy moisture incursion followed a period of dry, warm weather in the region. Since there was heating near the ground, the moisture led to the formation of clouds across south Bengal and caused rain. It is likely to continue for the next four days, though the showers will be light to moderate,” said Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) weather scientist HR Biswas. Kolkata could receive light showers on Thursday.
“Such systems often form in the post-monsoon period when the atmosphere still remains conducive to cloud formation and ground heating persists. But once this system dissolves, we are likely to experience dry weather till winter unless a big system like a cyclone forms deep into the sea,” said a weather scientist.
On Wednesday, the rain was not uniform across the city. While some parts of south Kolkata received spells of sharp shower in the morning, other parts remained dry and cloudy. The showers got more even from late afternoon when a heavy spell drenched the city.
Along with Kolkata, neighbouring districts of Howrah, Hoogly, East Midnapore, East and West Burdwan and South 24 Parganas, too, received showers.
The city and south Bengal ended monsoon with a normal rain count. Following a narrow rain deficit till early-Aug, the city and south Bengal received four major spells triggered by low pressures over Bay of Bengal, two of which struck in Aug and the other two in Sept. Between June 1 and Sept 29, Kolkata received 1,254 mm rain against a normal count of 1,326 mm. South Bengal received 1,154 mm against a normal of 1,169 mm. Both are around 1% lower than the normal count.
