Sudden rain lashes Vijayawada, thunderstorms likely to continue in A.P. this week

A sudden spell of rain, accompanied by lightening, gusty winds and thunderstorms, lashed Vijayawada, Amaravati and surrounding areas on Wednesday evening, bringing relief to citizens from intense heat.

At the time of writing the report, the realtime rain data was not available as the government website, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, did not open, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) updates the rainfall data the following day.

At around 3 p.m., the IMD, Amaravati, had issued a red alert for the districts of West Godavari, Eluru, NTR and Krishna for three hours, as severe thunderstorms accompanied by lightening, gusty winds with speed reaching 50-60 kmph, and heavy rainfall were ‘very likely’. There was also a possibility of hailstorm, the IMD alert said. There was a red alert for Prakasam district and orange alert for Sri Sathya Sai district as well.

Officials from the A.P. State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) said while there was heavy rainfall in NTR and in a few places around Amaravati, there was no hailstorm.

According to the IMD forecast, thunderstorms, lightening and light showers are likely to continue at isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Rayalaseema. Gusty winds, with speed reaching maximum 50 kmph, are also likely to continue in the State until March 22.

APSDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain cautioned the public as the State is likely to experience mixed weather conditions, intense heat on one side and thunderstorms and lightening on the other.

Due to the influence of a trough and winds blowing from the southwest direction, light to moderate rains are likely in coastal districts and Rayalaseema on Thursday. While there were reports of a man dying after being struck by lightening in Thulluru, Guntur district, APSDMA authorities denied these reports.