Bhubaneswar: Light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms lashed the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Thursday evening, bringing much-needed relief from the gruelling heat.The spell, which lasted for over an hour in some parts, was accompanied by lightning and gusty winds, leading to uprooting and snapping of trees at a few places and causing partial disruption in power supply. Similar reports were received from Cuttack and a few other districts. There were also unconfirmed reports of damage to kutcha houses in some areas, though no official assessment was available till late in the evening.“This rain has brought much-needed relief from the intense summer heat,” said Santosh Sahu, a businessman from Chandrasekharpur. He said the residents had been grappling with hot and humid conditions over the past few days.According to the IMD’s rainfall data recorded till 5.30 pm, Sonepur received the highest rainfall in the state of 30 mm, followed by Angul (18 mm) and Sundargarh (13.6 mm). Rainfall figures for Bhubaneswar and Cuttack were awaited at the time of filing.The thunderstorm activity, reported from several parts of the state over the past 24 hours, led to a marginal drop in day temperatures. Balangir recorded the highest temperature at 42.2°C, followed by Boudh at 42°C. In Bhubaneswar, the temperature touched 37.1°C before the storm set in.The IMD has forecast continued thunderstorm activity, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds, in several districts till May 6. Sanjeev Dwivedi, scientist at the Bhubaneswar IMD centre, said day temperatures are likely to fall by 2°C to 3°C over the next three days, offering some respite. “There will be no significant change thereafter,” he added.
