IMD's thunderstorm, rain alert for parts of Maharashtra today | Details here
The weather prediction came days after eight flights were diverted at the Mumbai airport on Friday due to heavy rainfall and low visibility.
Thunderstorms and moderate rainfall with gusty winds reaching 30-40 kmph are very likely at isolated places in several districts of Maharashtra, including Nanded, Latur, Jalna, Aurangabad, Osmanabad, Latur, Beed, Parbhani, Kolhapur, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Pune, Satara, Solapur and Hingoli, in the next three-four hours, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an alert on Sunday.
The weather prediction came days after eight flights were diverted at the Mumbai airport on Friday due to heavy rainfall and low visibility.
“Due to bad weather conditions in Mumbai today, 8 flights were diverted to nearby airports,” Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) said in a statement.
Several parts of the city received heavy rainfall on Friday.
Earlier, the IMD had predicted thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and light to moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 30-40 km per hour at isolated places in Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Hingoli, Latur, Nasik and Aurangabad.
Along with favourable wind patterns, there has been an increase in daytime temperatures this week. Coupled with the high level of humidity, this forms the perfect condition for convective activity, leading to the sudden formation of cumulonimbus clouds.
Pune, Ahmednagar and Raigad districts saw thunderstorms on October 10, while interior Thane and Raigad, including Navi Mumbai, got thunderstorms on Oct 11 and 12. As was also the case in Mumbai on Thursday and Friday, these were accompanied by lightning strikes and short, but intense, spells of rain. Another surge in rainfall before the withdrawal of the monsoon was predicted last week.
