Hailstorms batter state, rains to continue, says IMD

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Heavy rains and hail pelted parts of Karnataka on Thursday even as Bengaluru received light showers on the day with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) expecting the pattern to continue till Saturday. The weather department could confirm that districts such as Kolar and Kodagu were indeed at the receiving end of hailstorms.

Malnad region including Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga and parts of Belagavi district also received rain, besides parts of Chamarajanagar, Raichur and Yadgir districts. Rains battered parts of the state on Wednesday as well. IMD also noted that Bengaluru was expected to receive thundershowers but only saw light rain on Thursday.

They also revealed that a trough running from “north interior Tamil Nadu to Konkan in lower tropospheric levels” was the cause of the showers. A trough is essentially a turning of the winds that accumulates moisture. An IMD scientist said that rains would taper off in the days to come.

“For Bengaluru especially, we have forecast rains for today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) but after that, the intensity and quantum will come down,” he said. He explained that Malnad received more rain due to geographical reasons.

“Moisture incursion is the first ingredient. Second is the instability in the atmosphere. Third is a triggering mechanism. This is happening in Malnad because of the hills which makes the air rise. Something has to force it to rise, only then will it condense. Hills are the triggering mechanism,” he said. “They (Malnad districts) lie on the windward side of Western Ghats. Meanwhile, Bengaluru and other districts are on the leeward side of the ghats,” he added.

Malnad refers to districts such as Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Hassan, Kodagu and parts of Belagavi, Dharwad and Haveri among parts of other districts, which on an average receive rainfall higher than other parts of Karnataka.