Rains lash coastal AP, to continue till May 3

Visakhapatnam: Light-to-moderate showers lashed parts of Guntur, NTR, Krishna and few other coastal districts in AP on Saturday. A report from IMD Amravati said coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema may get more rains till May 3.

IMD Amaravati director S. Stella said heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places over Rayalaseema region and parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Thunderstorms with hail, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds with speeds of 40–50 kmph, are likely for the next four days due to the lower tropospheric south easterly / south westerly winds prevailing over AP and Yanam.

The IMD director has issued an orange warning, forecasting thunderstorms with lightning in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema. She appealed to farmers and people not to take shelter under trees, near electric poles and on grounds during the thunderstorm so that they can avoid deaths due to lightning.

As per the IMD, most parts of the state recorded temperatures below 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

YSR Kadapa and Tuni recorded a maximum temperature of 39 degrees Celsius, highest in the state on Saturday, followed by Gannavaram (37.8), Tirupati (37.1), Machilipatnam (37), Kakinada (36.9), Nandyal (36.7), Ongole (36.7) Nellore (36.5) and Anantapur (36.4). IMD has forecast that day temperature may slightly dip in the coming days.

Sudden showers on Saturday damaged mango, chilli, maize and a few other crops in parts of Guntur, Krishna and NTR districts, causing a loss to farmers.