With the monsoon being all set to arrive in Uttarakhand on any day between June 19 and June 21, pre-monsoon rains would now occur across the State for the next few days, giving relief to the people smarting under the sweltering heat.
Meteorological center director Bikram Singh said that as the state would see rain between June 19 and June 21, the senior Met officials based in Delhi would officially declare the arrival of the monsoon, depending on the factors that determine it.
Meanwhile, rain accompanied with winds in the state capital and other parts of the state on Friday has brought relief to the people as the mercury dipped in its aftermath. While 6.6 mm rainfall was reported in Dehradun, it was 11.6 mm in Pantnagar and 14.3 mm in Mukteshwar between 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Friday.
Singh also warned of hail that is likely to lash several places, especially in the hills, during the next 24 hours. “While thunder squall is likely to lash isolated places during the next 24 hours light to moderate rain/thunder showers have been forecast for most of the places in Uttarakhand for three days from June 18. light to moderate rainfall occurred at a few places in Uttarakhand. By 8.30 am on Friday, 30 mm rainfall was reported in Banbasa, 0.2 mm rainfall in Pantnagar, trace in New Tehri and Mukteshwar,” he said.
The maximum temperature settled at 34.4 ºC (one degree above the normal) while the minimum at 23.4 ºC (one degree above the normal) in Dehradun. It was 20.6 ºC (three degree below the normal) and 13.9 ºC (one degree above the normal) in Mukteshwar and 31.6ºC (five degree below the normal) and 22.8ºC (two degree below the normal) in Pantnagar. In Tehri district, maximum temperature was reported as 25.6 degree Celsius while the minimum was 14.6 degree Celsius on Friday.
Singh said that the weather forecast for Uttarakhand on Saturday is light to moderate rain/thunder showers at many places in Uttarakhand. The weather forecast for Dehradun on Saturday is generally cloudy sky and rain/thunder showers in some areas. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 34 ºC and 22 ºC respectively in the city on Saturday, Singh added.