Chandigarh:
Heavy rains on Tuesday lashed vast swathes of Punjab and Haryana affecting life in both states and causing sharp drop in maximum temperatures.
Incessant rains accompanied by strong winds hit road traffic as snarls were reported from various places, resulting in inconvenience to commuters. Rains also caused water-logging at some places in the region.
"The present change in weather was caused by a western disturbance over J&K. An induced low pressure area also lies over Rajasthan and because of these two weather systems, the region has received widespread rain and snowfall in the hills," Chandigarh's MeT Department Director, Surinder Paul said.
He said the weather in the plains of the region will remain wet till Thursday and it would clear up from Friday.
Chandigarh was lashed by heavy rains of 17 mm during the day, while most of Haryana including Ambala (13 mm), Bhiwani (12 mm), Karnal (22 mm), Gannaur (70 mm), Gurgaon (42 mm), Sonepat (50 mm), Panipat (22 mm), Panchkula (15 mm), Yamunanagar (51 mm), Rewari (45 mm) and Jatusana (72 mm) received heavy showers.
Amritsar received 20 mm showers, while Ludhiana received 10 mm, Patiala 22 mm, Kapurthala 50 mm, Gurdaspur 35 mm, Jalandhar 14 mm, Faridkot 13 mm, Talwandi Sabo 10 mm and Hoshiarpur 13 mm.
After rains during the day, maximum temperatures registered a drop by few notches in Chandigarh, which recorded a high of 16.6 degree Celsius, four degrees below normal, the MeT department said in Chandigarh.
Ambala's maximum of 16.2 degree Celsius was down by five notches while Karnal recorded a high of 15.8 degree Celsius, also down five degrees.
Amritsar (18 C), Ludhiana (17.6 C) and Patiala (16.7 C) also recorded below normal maximum on Tuesday.
However, despite rains since Monday, the minimum temperatures in the two states and their joint capital
Chandigarh on Tuesday settled in the range of 11-14 deg C, a few notches above normal.
But the night temperatures are likely to fall from Thursday once the weather clears up, the MeT department said.
In its forecast on Tuesday, the Met said moderate to rather heavy rains or thundershowers will continue during next two days in Punjab and Haryana and there is also a possibility of hailstorm at isolated places.