Bhubaneswar: Pre-monsoon showers brought relief from the scorching heat in most parts of Odisha on Saturday, according to the IMD. Heavy rain, along with thunderstorms, is likely across the State till May 30, and there will be no large change in temperature, it said.

”Almost all the districts experienced cloudy weather, with light to moderate rain at many places and heavy downpour in some areas,” said Manorama Mohanty, the Director of the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar. “Similar weather conditions are likely to prevail till May 30 in the wake of a cyclonic circulation that lies over north coastal Odisha,” she said.

Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, Koraput received 45 mm rainfall, followed by Bhubaneswar (37 mm), Angul (36 mm), Khurda (22 mm) Cuttack (18.4 mm) and Talcher (12.4 mm).

IMD scientist Umashankar Das said Odisha was receiving pre-monsoon rains after the southwest monsoon reached Kerala. “The cloud systems responsible for the current rainfall are not moving in from the west or northwest, which is characteristic of Kalbaisakhi storms. Instead, these systems are advancing inland from the sea, a typical pre-monsoon pattern,” he said. The IMD advised people to take safe shelter during thunderstorm to protect themselves from lightning.

The Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) said the possibility of the formation of a low pressure area over the north-west Bay of Bengal may lead to the early onset of south-west monsoon over Odisha. The CEC Director, S C Sahu, said overcast conditions with light rain and thunderstorms were expected to occur over the State and rainfall was likely to increase from May 27 afternoon under the influence of the low pressure area.

“The rains may continue till May 30 night but heavy precipitation may occur on May 28 and 29 in the coastal belt of Odisha and a few other districts,” Sahu said. The intensity of rainfall may be too high in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Sundargarh, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Khurda districts, he said.

These rain-bearing systems may signal the onset of monsoon over Odisha on May 28 or 29, about two weeks before the normal date of arrival of the rains in the State, Sahu said. “The rains occurring now may be termed as pre-monsoon rain with decreasing day temperature and increase in humidity,” he said.