Sanjeev Kumar Patro

Bhubaneswar: More thunder and hailstorms are in store for Odisha during the coming 48 hours. The forecast is, wind gusting at 45 Km/hour will pummel places like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada on Tuesday (May 5).

The prediction made by the country's ace thunderstorm watch agency, System for Thunderstorm Observation, Prediction and Monitoring, also shows a high probability of hailstorm hitting north Odisha, especially Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Keonjhar tomorrow (May 5).

A significant alert issued is lightning will accompany the thunder and hailstorm tomorrow. The forecast valid till morning hours of May 5, shows hail and thunderstorm are predicted for nearly three-fourth of the districts in Odisha. The forecast range covers the whole of south, west, interior and parts of northern Odisha. (See the image below). Places in Odisha may record rainfall of around 100-150 mm tomorrow.

[caption id="attachment_449071" align="aligncenter" width="650"]Thunder &hailstorm prediction for Odisha Three-fourth of Odisha will record thunder & hailstorm. Squally wind, lightning in coastal belt[/caption]

However, an analysis of the Global Ensemble Forecast Model (GEFS) released shows there is a high probability of thunderstorm hitting places like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada on Tuesday (May 5) between the 12 noon and 3 PM. The wind speed during the period will gust at over 45 KM/hr, if the prediction of GEFS is to be believed.

Besides, there is a forecast of hailstorm hitting some places in the districts of north Odisha, especially Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Keonjhar, tomorrow (May 5) between 3 PM and 6 PM. Here too the prediction is wind will gust at a velocity of over 45 Km/hour.

As per the release of System for Thunderstorm Observation, Prediction and Monitoring,  many places in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal will witness thunderstorm till Tuesday.

The significant weather phenomenon over Odisha is the consequence of persistence of a circulation over Bangladesh and neighbourhood, which is superimposed by the remnant of a Western Disturbance as a trough with its axis roughly along longitude 90°E to the north of latitude 22°N in the middle levels.

As the cold air is likely to be advected in the middle levels in association with the trough, this will very likely intensify thunderstorms over the region on Monday and Tuesday, the release added.

However, there is a very little probability of thunder or hailstorm in Odisha on Wednesday or May 6.

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