Heavy rain along with thunderstorms lashed parts of Jharkhand on Thursday afternoon, weather officials said.
Some parts of the state, including capital Ranchi, witnessed strong winds and scattered events of hailstorms, which uprooted trees and electricity poles in many places.
Officials at the Ranchi Meteorological Centre said similar weather conditions may prevail also on Friday, while lightning may continue till March 19 with some parts witnessing wind speed at 30-50 kmph.
"A western disturbance as a trough in westerlies, while another trough from sub-Himalayan West Bengal to Odisha has impacted Jharkhand weather. Due to the impact of the systems, Jharkhand may witness rain coupled with thunderstorms and lightning for the next two days. Some places may also witness hailstorms," said Abhishek Anand, in-charge of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre.
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He said lightning and thunderstorms may continue till March 19 with the possibility of light rain.
The rainfall, however, also provided much-needed relief as many parts of the state were facing acute shortage of water due to the drying up of ponds and other sources.
Jharkhand witnessed prolonged dry spells since November last year, barring a brief spell of light rain in the first week of March.
The issue of water crisis was also raised by many legislators seeking government intervention during the assembly session on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the rainfall activity helped bring down the day temperature. Ranchi's maximum temperature slipped down to 30.8 degrees Celsius from 33.8 degrees Celsius recorded on Wednesday.
