It rains hailstones

It rains hailstones
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: For the first time this season, a hailstorm hit Bangalore on Wednesday evening along with thundershowers and gusty winds. The rain cooled the city, with temperatures plummeting to 19.5 degree C, and gave citizens a taste of the approaching monsoon.

The city meteorological department warns that rain or thunder showers are likely towards the evening or night in the coming days. The city recorded 16.9 mm rainfall while the airport noted 10.8 mm and Yelahanka 4 mm. The maximum temperature fell from 33.6 C to 19.5 C following the evening showers.

A squall disrupted electric supply in several areas. Mico Layout, Bannerghatta Road, Yelahanka, Vidyaranyapura, Padarayanapalya, M S Ramaiahnagar and Gokulnagar were badly by the power shutdown. Residents in Mico Layout were irked as the power was not restored till late at night.

About 15 trees were uprooted by high speed winds. A massive tree came crashing down on the Vyalikaval police station in the evening. However, no casualties were reported. A tree fell on DVG Road, damaging a car.

Tree also fell in Basaveshwaranagar, Rajajinagar and Kirloskar Colony. Large trees were uprooted in the Modi Hospital compound and Yeshwantpur RMC Yard.

Water logging was reported on Sankey Road disrupting the traffic for more than hour. The Prahari squad was deployed to clear shoulder drains to facilitate flow of excess water. Minor water logging was reported in Chikpet.

According to weather experts of the GKVK, hailstorms are a common phenomenon during premonsoon showers. They are due to local convection occurring at high altitudes. For motorists, visibility was poor, and traffic slowed down considerably.

“At the high altitude level, dense clouds containing water vapour are formed. When the positive cloud charge and the negative cloud charge combine, neutralisation takes place, due to which there is a sudden fall in temperature. Thus, water vapours convert into solid form or ice. The gravitational pull from the earth makes them fall with the rain,’’ said a weather expert at GKVK.