Met dept says thunderbolts likely in parts of AP

Amaravati: Parts of Andhra Pradesh, mainly East and West Godavari districts are likely to witness thunderbolt strikes on Sunday, said the State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), cautioning farmers, workers and cattle rearers to avoid staying under the trees for safety.

Quoting the Meteorological department, APSDMA said the thunderbolts are a result of the weather system of trough and wind discontinuity running from northwest Madhya Pradesh to south Tamil Nadu across interior Maharashtra and interior Karnataka at 0.9 km above mean sea level.

"Lower tropospheric southerly and south westerly winds prevail over Andhra Pradesh and Yanam," the Met department said in a release.

Consequently, the disaster management department warned of thunderbolts in parts of the Godavari districts, Konaseema, Eluru, Krishna and NTR, accompanied by varying intensities of rainfall.

APSDMA managing director B R Ambedkar cautioned people to be wary of the thunderbolts.

Besides thunderstorms in parts of the state for five days from Friday to Tuesday, the Met department has predicted similar conditions on Wednesday as well.

Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are expected in isolated parts over north coastal AP (NCAP), Yanam, south coastal AP (SCAP) and Rayalaseema during these days. It also forecast winds reaching up to speeds of 30 to 40 km per hour.

Meanwhile, APSDMA forecast that there would be no heat wave in all the 670 mandals of the southern state for Sunday and Monday.