Mon storm gives Kol highest single-day rain this April
Times of India | 30 April 2025
123 Kolkata: Rain accumulating to 23 mm through Monday night pulled down the mercury significantly, cooling the city down. The Met office has predicted more rain in the next four to five days, though the intensity is likely to be of a scattered nature. However, these thundershower spells are expected to keep the temperature from rising above the normal mark for now.
Another nor'wester spell rammed into the city late on Monday night, triggering this April's highest single-day rain count. During the spell, Alipore recorded a wind speed of 49 kmph, failing to qualify as a squall by a whisker. The minimum plunged seven notches below normal mark to 19.2° Celsius, making it the lowest minimum temperature this month. On Monday, it was 29.9° Celsius. The maximum also dipped further to 31.2°C, 4.4 notches below the normal mark.
"While we do not expect severe thunderstorms for now, there are chances of scattered or less intense rain in next four to five days. For Kolkata, the chance is bright on Thursday. These showers will play checkmate with the mercury, preventing it from rising abruptly. There will be no significant change in temperature, and the weather will remain pleasant for now," said HR Biswas, head of the Weather Forecast Section at RMC, Kolkata.
Despite a slight rise, both maximum and minimum temperatures may remain slightly below normal mark for now. The Monday night rain was the most significant rainy day this April, with the nor'wester spell pulling off 23 mm rain in the city. The other rainy day was April 17, when Alipore recorded a 21.2 mm rain in a span of three hours. Altogether, the city has received 47.9 mm rain this month, which is close to the mean monthly April rain — 58.9 mm.
"The seasonal rain for Kolkata so far is normal, and with two days remaining, we can expect the monthly rain count to go a little higher. But in western districts like Bankura, Purulia, and Birbhum, there is already a rain surplus," added Biswas. During the Monday night thunderstorm activity that affected many other districts, gusty wind was reported in the range of 40-80 kmph at one or two places over districts of south Bengal, with the highest gusty wind speed of 80 kmph at Purulia. A combination of weather systems — an upper air cyclonic circulation and trough in westerlies, along with a favourable wind pattern and moisture incursion from the Bay — is set to bring more rain. Now, the city is getting southerly to south-westerly wind, which continues to inject moisture into land.