Heavy rain accompanied by lightning and gusty winds disrupted parts of Kolkata on Thursday, leaving several roads waterlogged as the Alipore weather office issued alerts for Kolkata, Howrah and South 24 Parganas. Howrah was placed under a red alert, while Kolkata and South 24 Parganas received orange alerts.
The weather office warned of heavy rain with thunderstorms and strong winds in the three districts. The warning came after Kolkata and its suburbs experienced bright sunshine in the morning before dark clouds gathered later in the day and rain began in spells.
Waterlogging was reported at Salt Lake Sector V, including near the ECPS area. The accumulated water affected traffic movement, with commuters also seen crossing roads through the flooded stretches. The incident highlighted the immediate disruption that short-duration rain can cause on busy commercial and transport corridors.
The Alipore weather office also issued orange alerts for North 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura, Murshidabad and Nadia. These districts may receive thunderstorms, rain and gusty winds reaching 30 to 40 kilometres per hour.
Other districts in southern West Bengal are expected to receive scattered rain. Kolkata and the wider southern part of the state are likely to see intermittent rainfall each day until Sunday, with a yellow alert in place. The forecast also includes the possibility of lightning and gusty winds in several areas.
North Bengal is also expected to receive scattered heavy rain. Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Alipurduar may receive heavy rain on Thursday and Friday, while other districts could see scattered showers, lightning and strong winds. Rainfall is expected to reduce in North Bengal from Saturday.
The weather office said conditions remain favourable for rain and storms because of multiple weather systems. A monsoon trough is extending from the Saurashtra region through a low-pressure area near the northeast Arabian Sea, across Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, before entering West Bengal and extending towards the Bay of Bengal through Digha.
A circulation over northern Thailand is expected to move into the North Andaman Sea by Friday evening, where it may lead to the formation of a low-pressure area. According to the forecast, the system could move north-northwestwards and reach the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast in three to four days. Another trough extends from North Bengal to northern Odisha, supporting the continued possibility of rain and thunderstorms across the state.
The Alipore weather office has also indicated that the southwest monsoon may begin withdrawing from parts of western Rajasthan by September 19. For Kolkata, however, the immediate forecast remains focused on intermittent rain, lightning, gusty winds and localised waterlogging through the weekend.
