Isolated moderate rain, thunderstorms likely in Coastal Andhra Pradesh

After remaining parched for the first three months of the southwest monsoon season, many places in Andhra Pradesh received widespread moderate to heavy rainfall on Saturday (September 12), thanks to the low-pressure zone formed over the Bay of Bengal.

APSDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain said moderate rains with thunderstorms are likely in some areas of Anakapalli, East Godavari, West Godavari, NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, and Palnadu districts on Sunday as well.

People in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam woke up to the sounds of thunderstorms as heavy rain pounded the cities on Saturday (September 12).

Many low-lying areas in Vijayawada, including Pandit Nehru Bus Station area, were waterlogged. Traffic jams were reported at major junctions, including Benz Circle and NTR Circle, where vehicles were stranded for nearly an hour.

While there was no flooding in Visakhapatnam, drizzle continued, with intermittent spells of moderate rainfall on Saturday. The rain brought relief to the denizens from sweltering heat. The day temperatures dropped substantially after a prolonged dry and hot spell.

According to the 3 p.m. bulletin of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the low-pressure area over Coastal South Odisha and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh remained over South Chhattisgarh and its neighbourhood at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday. It is likely to move west-northwestwards across South Chhattisgarh and Vidarbha during the next 24 hours.

A yellow alert remains in place for the districts of Parvathipuram-Manyam and Alluri Sitharama Raju as isolated heavy rainfall is expected on Sunday, September 13.

While multiple low-pressure systems was formed over the Bay of Bengal in July and August, none brought widespread rainfall to Andhra Pradesh. This time, many places in North and South Coastal Andhra Pradesh received heavy to very heavy rainfall. Rayalaseema, however, did not see much rainfall activity.

According to information shared by the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), the heavy rainfall activity was centred in West Godavari and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema districts. The average rainfall recorded in these districts between 8.30 a.m. on Friday and the corresponding time on Saturday stood at 46.2 mm and 36.4 mm respectively.

The mandals which received the maximum amount of rainfall during the 24 hours were Penugonda (108.2 mm), Iragavaram (107 mm), Penumantra (104.6 mm), Achanta (97.6 mm) and Ganapavaram (94.6 mm), all in West Godavari district.

Kanchili in Srikakulam received 73.8 mm, followed by Poduru in West Godavari (65.8 mm), Kaviti in Srikakulam district (63.4 mm), Vijayawada Rural (61.4 mm), P. Gannavaram in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema (60 mm), Vijayawada Central (59 mm), Makkuva in Parvathipuram Manyam (50.6 mm). Many other stations received 50 mm rain or below during the 24-hour period.

Until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Malikipuram of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district recorded the day’s highest rain of 79.7 mm, followed by Vijayawada North (49 mm). Nandamuru in Krishna district (38.5 mm), Koonavaram of Polavaram district (32.5 mm), Polukonda in Krishna district (29.5 mm).