Hyderabad came to a grinding halt on Thursday as heavy rains lashed the city. According to the Met Department, thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds occurred in several parts of the state. The rains and thunderstorm led to massive traffic snarls in places such as Secunderabad, Begumpet, Khairatabad, Punjagutta, etc. Trees were uprooted as well. The traffic jam in Punjagutta was exacerbated by one such uprooted tree. Several motorists were caught unaware and had to take shelter in places such as bus stops and under store awnings. Many took to social media to warn others and asked them to stay safe.
Its raining with full wind #hyderabadrains pic.twitter.com/qys1brXhst
— Vikas raikwar (@imvikasvicky) May 17, 2018
Some happy trees here.@hashHyderabad#hyderabadrains #WelcomeMonsoon #Hyderabad pic.twitter.com/Yq8PXPn7Hl
— Cactus Expert™ (@Basantshah) May 17, 2018
Heavy Rain in Hyderabad..
— Carthik A V S K (@sharzskar) May 17, 2018
All roads will be full of water
Drive Safe, Beware of open Man holes#hyderabadrains@GHMCOnline @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/c4CxOgHDcf
#hyderabadrains pic.twitter.com/61ygeeGVfe
— Sonali (@prettyandsadtbh) May 17, 2018
Raining Elephants n hippopotamus in #Hyderabad but just not cats n dogs.
— Nellutla Kavitha (@iamKavithaRao) May 17, 2018
Stay safe #Hyderabadis #HyderabadRain pic.twitter.com/A3wHIOTSa5
In the city, Nampally and Amberpet recorded the highest rainfall at 4 cm, followed by Kapra, Jubilee Hills, Malkajgiri, Himayatnagar, Musheerabad, Khairatabad, Asif Nagar and Saidabad at 3 cm. According to the IMD, thunderstorms occurred over isolated parts of districts such as Sangareddy, Vikarabad, Rangareddy, Mahabubnagar, Khammam and Medak. Speaking to TNM, Indian Meteorology Department scientist B Raja Rao said that the thunderstorms will continue till the onset of the south-west monsoon, which will mostly to take place by May-end. “We have forecasted that the south-west monsoon will touch Kerala either in the last week of May or June first week. Until then, the thunderstorms will continue to prevail in several isolated parts of the state which record severe heat.” He also said that the city is like to receive moderate rainfall on Friday.
What are thunderstorms?
Thunderstorms are formed due to convective clouds. Convective clouds which are the reason for thunderstorms to spread 10-15 km and also soar up to over 10 metres than the rest of clouds. They form due to excessive heat and the presence of moisture in the atmosphere, Raja Rao said.