Normal life has been affected following heavy rainfall reported from various parts of the State over the past 48 hours. Furthermore, the Meteorological Centre has issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar, Champawat, Almora, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, Pauri, Haridwar, Dehradun and Tehri districts of Uttarakhand during the next 48 hours.
The Met office has forecast moderate rain/thunderstorm at a few places in Uttarakhand till July 4. The intensity of the rains would slow down gradually since July 4 as very light to light rain/thunderstorm has been forecast at a few places with moderate rain/thunderstorm in Uttarakhand for the next two days-July 5 and July 6.
However, the rainfall over the past 48 hours brought relief to the people as it ended for the time being the hot and humid spell that turned almost insufferable in Dehradun as well as across the State. The mercury came down by a few notches as a result of the widespread rainfall. The maximum temperature in Dehradun, Mukteshwar and Pantnagar was reported six, five and seven notches below as compared to the normal.
Denizens of Dehradun looked exulted over the rainfall. Many were seen getting drenched to enjoy things after suffering from a prolonged sultry spell. However, those driving cars or riding two-wheelers faced problems with the roads being slippery. “We faced problems while driving cars as the roads were wet. But the problem is nothing as compared to the humid spell we suffered from for a good many days preceding the rain,” said Anuj, a resident of Hathibarkala.
The weather forecast for Dehradun on Sunday is generally cloudy sky and one or two spells of rain/thundershowers at isolated places. The maximum and minimum temperatures in Dehradun are likely to be around 26ºC and 22ºC respectively on Sunday.
Over the past 24 hours by 8.30 am on Saturday, rainfall was reported at few places in the State. While 43.6 mm rainfall was reported in Dehradun it was 22.2 mm in Uttarkashi, 6.0 mm in Mussoorie, 3.8 mm in Joshimath, 24.2 mm in Dhanauri, 5.8 mm in Pithoragarh, 5.4 mm in Matela, 18.2 mm in Mukteshwar, 81.6 mm in Nainita, 12.0 mm in Champawat, 34.4 mm in Pantnagar and 6.0 mm in Gairsain.
The Met centre director Vikram Singh informed that the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 25.6ºC Celsius and 23.6ºC Celsius in Dehradun while it was 17.2ºC and 15.7ºC in Mukteshwar, 19.8ºC and 17.8ºC in Tehri, 27.6ºC and 24.8ºC in Pantnagar on Saturday.