Pune: Shivajinagar on Wednesday received 131mm of rainfall, with the bulk of it in just three hours ending 5.30pm, its highest 24-hour Sept rainfall in 86 years. The city had recorded its highest 24-hour rainfall at 132.
3mm on Sept 21, 1938. The final 24-hour rainfall figures starting 8.30am on Wednesday will be released on Thursday, potentially surpassing the 1938 record.
Chinchwad also received heavy precipitation of 131mm on Wednesday. IMD forecast for Thursday also stated heavy to very heavy rain/ thunderstorm with gusty winds very likely in the city, with an orange alert. It was sunny in Shivajinagar till 1pm on Wednesday and the rain started around 2.
30pm. "The heat, combined with moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and a cyclonic circulation over south Chhattisgarh, led to the formation of tall cumulonimbus, or convective clouds, by about 3pm. Within just three hours, 124mm of rainfall was recorded in Shivajinagar, which is significant owing to its high intensity in a short period," S D Sanap, scientist with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told TOI.
"The low-pressure system that had formed over west-central Bay of Bengal and northwest Bay of Bengal has become less marked. However, the associated cyclonic circulation over south Chhattisgarh and its adjoining areas, tilting southward with height, is bringing moisture from the Arabian Sea," Sanap said. Wednesday's rainfall did not come under the category of a cloudburst, which requires 100mm .