Thunderstorms coupled with lightning and gusty winds lashed Mumbai on Monday morning, affecting suburban rail services and slowing down traffic due to poor visibility in several parts of the city, officials said.
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warning of thunderstorms, heavy rains and gusty winds hit Dadar, Mahim, Parel, Bandra, Kalachowki and several other parts of the city.
The IMD issued a “Nowcast” warning, forecasting thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and intense spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph at isolated places in Mumbai in the next three to four hours.
Track weather news live updates here: Thunderstorm, rain very likely to hit parts of Mumbai within 3-4 hours
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, no major waterlogging was reported anywhere in the city and suburbs.
However, some low-lying areas in the city witnessed flooding.
The suburban services on the Central and Western Railway were delayed, and road traffic slowed down due to poor visibility.
“Suburban trains are delayed by eight to 10 minutes because of reduced speed on account of low visibility due to incessant downpour,” a spokesperson of the Central Railway said.
A Western Railway spokesperson said the suburban services were running normally on its corridor, but some passengers have complained about delays on social media.
The IMD Mumbai has forecast light to moderate rainfall in parts of Mumbai in the next 24 hours, civic officials said.
“Generally cloudy sky with possibility of thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds 30-40 kmph and light to moderate rain at isolated places in city and suburbs,” the forecast stated.
According to civic officials, the city has been witnessing continuous rainfall since the last night, with the island city receiving more rain than the suburban areas.
The island city recorded an average rainfall of 58 mm, 19 mm in the eastern suburbs and 15 mm in the western suburbs in 24 hours, ending at 8 am.
A high tide is expected at 11.24 am at 4.75 metres and again at 11.09 pm at 4.17 metres, while a low tide is likely at 5.18 pm at 1.63 metres and 5.21 am on Tuesday at 0.04 metres, the BMC said.