Gutsy winds, storm bring in cool relief

Lucknow: Temperatures dropped drastically in the city on Friday following the overnight thunderstorm, bringing relief from the scorching weather prevailing for the past 15 days. Relief from intense heat will continue on Friday.The maximum temperature was 33 degrees Celsius, 7.1 units below normal, while the minimum was also low at 20.9 degrees Celsius, 4.6 notches below normal. Until Wednesday, the maximum temperatures hovered between 40-43 and the minimum between 27-29 degrees Celsius.The thunderstorm struck in the wee hours of Friday. Strong gusty winds accompanied by lightning and rainfall lashed many parts of the city. Total 17mm rainfall was recorded at the State Met headquarters in Amausi.According to weatherman, one or two spells of thunderstorms and light rain are expected on Saturday and Sunday.“The change in weather conditions was caused due to change in wind pattern because of a western disturbance hovering over Afghanistan and moisture feeding into the state’s atmosphere from the sea,” said Mohammad Danish, senior scientist at the India Meteorological Centre.He said the sky will be partly cloudy during the day on Saturday. The cloud cover will increase as the day will progress. There is a possibility of a spell of rain/thundershower accompanied by gusty winds. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be around 33 and 23 degrees Celsius respectively, he added.