RANCHI: The IMD on Friday forecast light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds across Jharkhand over the next four days.The weather office issued an ‘orange’ alert (be prepared) for isolated thunderstorms and lightning across all 24 districts on Saturday, followed by a ‘yellow’ alert (be updated) from July 6 to 8.Light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds with speeds of 40-50 kmph is likely across the state during the period, the IMD said.According to the IMD bulletin, Latehar, Palamu, Chatra and Garhwa districts are likely to receive heavy rainfall on Sunday.On Monday, Hazaribag, Ramgarh, Latehar, Chatra and Ranchi districts are expected to witness heavy rain, while Khunti, Gumla, Simdega and West Singhbhum are likely to receive heavy showers on Tuesday.“Cloudy conditions are likely to prevail, with a possibility of light to moderate rainfall across the state, and heavy rain is expected at isolated places. There will be no significant change in the maximum temperature over the next five days,” the bulletin said.“We have issued an ‘orange’ alert for isolated thunderstorms and lightning across all 24 districts of the state for Saturday and a ‘yellow’ alert from July 6 to July 8. The wind speed will be up to 40-50 kmph,” IMD Ranchi Deputy Director Abhishek Anand said.During the past 24 hours, Daltonganj in Palamu district recorded the highest rainfall in the state at 54.4 mm.Bokaro Thermal recorded the state’s highest maximum temperature at 34.1 degrees Celsius, followed by Chaibasa at 33.8 degrees Celsius and Jamshedpur at 33 degrees Celsius. Ranchi recorded a maximum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius.The southwest monsoon entered Jharkhand on June 12 and covered the entire state on June 30. The state recorded a 54 per cent rainfall deficit in June. PTI
