The Regional Meteorological Centre Mumbai has issued a yellow alert for Mumbai, Thane and Raigad, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, rain and gusty winds over the weekend, while Palghar and several districts across Maharashtra face the possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall.
For Mumbai city and its suburbs, the weather office has forecast a partly cloudy sky over the next 24 hours, with one or two spells of light to moderate rain or thundershowers. These may be accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching 40–50 kmph at isolated places. Maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to remain around 33 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius respectively.
Mumbai has also been placed under a yellow alert for Sunday, with heavy rainfall expected. Over the next 48 hours, the city is likely to see a generally cloudy sky, a few spells of moderate rain or thundershowers, lightning and gusty winds of 40–50 kmph. The RMC has also said that one or two spells of intense rainfall are possible in some areas, creating the possibility of localised disruption in low-lying parts of the city.
Thane and Mumbai are likely to experience thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, heavy rainfall and gusty winds of 40–50 kmph at isolated places on Sunday. Palghar may see thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in the same range, while Raigad is expected to receive light to moderate rain. Ratnagiri is likely to receive moderate rainfall, and Sindhudurg may see light to moderate rain.
The weather warning extends to several other parts of Maharashtra. An orange alert has been issued for Chandrapur and Gadchiroli in Vidarbha, along with Parbhani, Hingoli and Nanded in Marathwada. These districts may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40–50 kmph.
On Sunday, the orange warning is expected to shift towards north Madhya Maharashtra. Dhule, Nandurbar and the ghats of Nashik are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds. Jalgaon, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and the ghats of Pune remain under a heavy rain and thunderstorm watch.
In Vidarbha, more intense weather activity on Saturday is expected in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. Bhandara, Gondia, Nagpur, Wardha, Washim and Yavatmal may also experience thunderstorms, lightning, heavy rainfall and gusty winds of 40–50 kmph at isolated places. Akola, Amravati and Buldhana are likely to see thunderstorms, lightning, light to moderate rain and gusty winds of 30–40 kmph.
The IMD has cautioned that heavy rain may cause localised flooding in low-lying and urban areas, uproot weak trees and disrupt transport and municipal services. It has advised residents to avoid open fields and tall trees during thunderstorms, unplug electrical appliances and follow subsequent weather bulletins. Mumbai is expected to remain under the green category, indicating no warning, from September 14 to 18.
