Pune: Gusty winds swept across several parts of the city on Wednesday evening, leaving tree falls uprooted and triggering isolated hail showers, though the rainfall intensity remained lower than the widespread showers recorded earlier this week.Officials from the fire department said they received at least eight calls related to uprooting of tree from areas such as Vimannagar, Dhanori, Hadapsar and Wadgaonsheri, following strong winds during the evening hours. Hail showers were reported from pockets of the old city, including peth areas, as well as Katraj and Akurdi.India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist S D Sanap said rainfall activity on Wednesday was more widespread compared to Tuesday, though still less intense than Monday’s showers. “Rainfall was reported in most places on Wednesday, while areas like Baner, Pashan and Sus saw only cloudy conditions earlier,” he said.Sanap attributed the weather to moisture incursion linked to a trough extending from east Bihar to north Madhya Maharashtra across Jharkhand, north Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh at about 0.9 km above mean sea level. Combined with daytime heating, these conditions created what he described as a perfect recipe for thundershowers.Shivajinagar received 0.4mm of rain till 8.30pm, while Lohegaon got 32.6mm during the period.According to the IMD’s local forecast for Pune and surrounding areas issued on Wednesday, thunderstorm activity with lightning and light rain is very likely during the afternoon or evening hours till April 4, even as skies are expected to remain mainly clear to partly cloudy during the day.The IMD has forecast isolated to scattered light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds (30-50 kmph, gusting up to 60 kmph) over Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada and Gujarat between April 2 and 4. Thundersquall activity with wind speeds reaching 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph, is likely over Madhya Maharashtra on April 2 and 3. The department has also indicated the possibility of isolated hailstorms over Madhya Maharashtra between April 2 and 3.Private forecaster Skymet Weather Services said multiple factors have come together to trigger the ongoing spell of unseasonal weather across the region. Officials said that pre-monsoon thunderstorm activity, initially seen over Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra, is expected to spread further, with fairly widespread and strong weather activity likely to persist across interior parts of the state till April 7. While coastal areas may see some relief after April 4, parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha could continue to experience hailstorms and strong winds during this period.
