Parts of Pune, such as Baner, turned white on Monday as a hailstorm peppered the ground. Some people rushed for shelter, others unfurled umbrellas and some filled their social media posts with images of a white landscape.

Just as the city was sweating through yet another scorching day, with temperatures hitting high numbers across all weather stations, the sky darkened and it began to thunder and rain. Gusty winds of 40-50 kmph began to blow. Pune is experiencing the first moderate thunder shower of the summer season.

By the evening, 46 mm of rain was recorded at Pashan, the highest reading in the city for this year. The Shivajinagar station recorded 26.2 mm and Magarpatta 25 mm. It was 19 mm in Koregaon Park and 16 mm in Dapodi. Hadapsar and Lavale received, comparatively, less rain at 7 mm and 3.5 mm, respectively.

The city received heavy rain accompanied by strong winds. Tree branches fell down at many places on Jangli Maharaj Road. (Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)

Lohegaon, where the maximum temperature had been almost 40° C for several days and which was the warmest part of Pune, was pelted with 36.2 mm of rain. The temperature dipped to 36° C soon after.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced an orange alert in Madhya Maharashtra for March 31 as well, expecting thunderstorms, lightning, squall and hailstorm. From April 1-3, there is a yellow alert in the region, which indicates that there is likely to be thunderstorm, lightning and squall but a hailstorm is unlikely. There is an orange alert in Marathwada as well for March 31. In isolated areas of Vidarbha, Konkan and Goa, the alert continues till April 3.

“As we are in summer now, the temperature has been rising. Wind is blowing from central India to Maharashtra. Due to high temperatures, moisture is dragged from different water bodies. Moreover, hot moist air comes via Telangana ,Vidarbha and adjoining areas. These opposite winds result in wind discontinuity over vast areas of Maharashtra and in adjoining areas. Additionally, the black cotton soil of the region also traps heat during day time. All these together lead to local convection and contribute to the formation of Cumulonimbus, i.e. thunder clouds, which cause rain with thunderstorms,” said Anupam Kashyapi, former Head of Weather Forecasting at IMD Pune.

A light rain continued for some time in the evening. The Shivajinagar station recorded a day-time temperature of 36° C, almost the same as the day before. Pashan was the coolest area of the city on the evening of March 30. Its maximum temperature fell to 27.1° C, which was sharply lower than 38.3° C recorded on March 27. The highest maximum temperature on Monday was 38.3° C recorded in Koregaon Park.