Eastern parts of the country received scattered rain and thundershowers in the past 24 hours. Moderate rains were witnessed over Gangetic West Bengal and light showers observed over Odisha, Jharkhand and a few places over Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Shanti Niketan recorded 30mm of rainfall, more than the monthly average. Burdwan and Berhampore also received 5-6 mm of rainfall. Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Rourkela in Odisha measured 11mm and 9mm respectively.
As predicted earlier, these rains were triggered by the convergence zone evolved due to the outflow of anticyclonic flow over the Bay of Bengal & Odisha and dry northwesterly winds along the Indo-Gangetic plains. This feature continues to persist and therefore, more showers are expected over the region today, as well. Kolkata, Midnapore, Burdwan, Digha, Hooghly and Diamond Harbor are likely to have moderate rainfall. Ranchi and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and Baripada, Keongjhargarh, and Rourkela in Odisha are expected to have rain and thundershower activity. Rains will mostly vacate Chhattisgarh and Bihar.
This feature is weakening from tomorrow onward and accordingly rainfall belt will shrink. Light rainfall will get limited to extreme southern parts of Gangetic West Bengal and along the coastline of Odisha. Rains will recede from the capital city Kolkata as well. Spread and intensity will increase again between 23rd and 25th Jan 2024. Broad clearance is expected over the entire region from 26th Jan onward.