Bringing huge relief from the soaring summer temperatures, coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh received thunderstorms on Tuesday. The Rayalaseema district, which has also been witnessing extremely high temperatures, also saw some rain.
The showers came as a surprise for the people as government officials and IMD had maintained that the state was likely to witness temperatures of more than 45 degrees Celsius.
Speaking to TNM, IMD Hyderabad scientist Dr Nagaratna said, "While the situation in Rayalaseema will remain the same for a few hours, coastal Andhra will continue to see active thunderstorms for the next 24 hours, on and off."
Till Tuesday afternoon, the temperatures in the districts ranged between 41 and 45 degrees Celsius.
Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa, Anantapur, Kurnool and Krishna districts saw 43-45 degree Celsius heat, while places in East Godavari, West Godavari, Guntur, and Vijayawada witnessed 42-43 degree Celsius temperatures.
Vijayawada received mild thunderstorm bringing down the peak temperature in city.
North coastal districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram, too, witnessed thunderstorms accompanied by winds.