Parts of Bengaluru saw hailstorms and thundershowers on Sunday, May 1, with many Bengalureans taking to social media to share videos and pictures of hail clanking onto their roofs and compounds. The Regional Meteorological Department office in Bengaluru has confirmed that some areas witnessed hail, and mercury dipped in the city, bringing respite from days of heat.
There is an intense heatwave in parts of northwest and central India, Bengaluru has also been reporting maximum temperatures of around 35-26ºC. The IMD has attributed the sudden thundershowers to a trough running from east Vidarbha to south Tamil Nadu across Telangana and Rayalaseema. “So under the influence of this system, the thunderstorms have developed over south east interior Karnataka. It is expected to give good amount of rainfall today,” IMD scientist Geeta Agnihotri told TNM.
Heavy rain at Bangalore with ice pellets wow #bangalorerains pic.twitter.com/puqA7TbRob
— Karthick (@gkarthickraja) May 1, 2022
The hailstorms that were seen in parts of Bengaluru can be attributed to the intense heat that the city has also experienced in the past few days. “This intense thunderstorms happen sometimes during the month of March, April and May. Sometimes the severe thunderstorms are accompanied with hail. These thunderstorms develop as a result of intense heating of land area, so a hailstorm is possible and has indeed been reported from some parts of the city. Yesterday too, there was some hail over parts of Bengaluru,” the IMD official added.
Raining with hails at Madivala, #Bengaluru. #Thunderstruck #thunderstorm pic.twitter.com/YxESws9YeX
— Bengaluru Weather (@BngWeather) May 1, 2022
The IMD has also predicted rain in Kodagu, Hassan, Mysuru, Mandya, Ramnagara, Chikkaballapur and Tumakuru districts. On April 30 too, rainfall occurred at a few places over coastal Karnataka and south interior Karnataka and at isolated places over north interior Karnataka.
“Light to moderate rains are expected over south interior Karnataka. In fact, all 16 south interior districts, except Kolar, will see rains. It is possible that rainfall may be seen over the next five days,” the IMD official said.