Storm leaves Mohali, Chandigarh powerless; brace for more showers, gusty winds
Residents in Mohali’s Sector 125, New Sunny Enclave, reported power cuts lasting up to three hours, while those in Badmajra, Balongi, Jujhar Nagar and nearby villages faced prolonged outages that stretched through the night
The thunderstorm that struck the tricity on Thursday night disrupted power supply across large parts of Mohali and Chandigarh, even as weather officials warned of more rain and gusty winds in the coming days.
Residents in Mohali’s Sector 125, New Sunny Enclave, reported power cuts lasting up to three hours, while those in Badmajra, Balongi, Jujhar Nagar and nearby villages faced prolonged outages that stretched through the night.
In Sohana village, power was restored only after a five-hour blackout, with residents saying electricity went off around 8 pm and did not return until 1 am.
Commercial areas were equally hit. The bustling Phase 2 market reported intermittent outages through Friday, severely impacting business.
The situation was no different in Zirakpur and Dera Bassi, where heavy rains on Friday morning caused waterlogging in several areas, adding to the woes of residents already grappling with prolonged power cuts.
Reports of outages came in from Chandigarh too, particularly Sectors 8, 10, 15, 24, 34, 37, 40, 41, 49. Electricity supply in most affected areas was restored within an hour.
12.9 mm rain lashes city
The storm brought along 12.9 mm rain through the night, promising a wetter May than last year, when the entire month saw only a trace of rain on May 11.
Gusty winds up to 70 km per hour swept through the tricity on Thursday night and continued into Friday with speeds peaking at 45 km per hour.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), another wet spell is expected early next week, starting Sunday evening and lasting through Tuesday, due to a fresh Western Disturbance and the impact of another system active over north-east India.
IMD issues orange alert for next week
IMD has issued an orange alert for Monday and Tuesday in the city. Orange is the second highest of the four-coloured warning system used by IMD, asking people to be prepared. Yellow alerts for thunderstorm will remain in place on Saturday and Sunday. It is the second of the four-coloured warning system and asks people to be updated.
The change in weather brought a sharp drop in temperatures.
The maximum temperature plunged from 36°C on Thursday to 31.1°C on Friday, a cool 6.4 degrees below normal. Even the minimum dropped from 28.5°C to 20.6°C as rain lashed the city overnight.
The pleasant weather is expected to continue until the next week. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will hover between 34°C and 35°C, and the minimum between 20°C and 21°C.
