Rain, hailstorm lash Delhi

Delhiites were in for some inclement weather, with rain and hailstorm lashing the capital from Thursday night.

The rain gathered pace on Friday morning and resulted in the city witnessing the highest rainfall in 24 hours for the month of January since 2003.

The rain and hailstorm pulled the mercury down to a maximum of 16.4 degree Celsius on Friday, four degrees below normal.

Minimum temperature however, remained above normal, with the mercury recording 11.3 degree Celsius on Friday, one degree above normal and up from Thursday's 9.7 degree Celsius.

According to the Met department, 21mm rainfall was recorded till 8.30 am on Friday, against 15.6 mm of rainfall being recorded in a single day in January in 2003.

"From our analysis, this appears to be the highest rainfall recorded in a day in January since 2003," a Met department official said.

Dr M Duraisamy, in-charge, Weather Forecast Centre at Regional Meteorological Centre in Delhi said, "Rain was expected due to some fresh western disturbances that led to high-speed winds, which triggered snowfall and hailstorms in other parts of North India as well."

Dr Duraisamy said the western disturbances had resulted in light cloud formation from Wednesday night. While intermittent showers were seen on Thursday, the first bout of heavy rainfall this month was seen on Friday morning. Humidity was recorded at 100 per cent.

The showers led to severe traffic snarls on Friday morning and most arterial roads were waterlogged. Stretches connecting Delhi and NCR, Gurgaon and Noida, and the Peripheral Ring Road were choked with traffic moving at a snail's pace.

The waterlogging at the foot of the Chirag Dilli flyover on Outer Ring Road resulted in spiralling snarls till Nehru Place and GK-2.

Traffic jams were reported from Barapullah, Nizamuddin Khatta, NH-24, under Moti Bagh flyover, Panchsheel Park and near Gymkhana.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Won't overrule DU's 4-year plan: Shashi Tharoor at Google+ hangout

To beat cancer, Stanford professor reaches out to Keralites in Delhi and elsewhere

Woman alleges gang-rape by husband, in-laws

3 more cases of minors rape reported in Delhi