Rajasthan is all set to witness second round of rains accompanied with hailstorm on February 13 and 14. The desert state had last witnessed rains and thundershowers on February 7. During that time its major cities such as Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh and Suratgarh had experienced rains along with intense hailstorm activities. These unseasonal weather activity had resulted in major damage of Rabi crops such as mustard and gram.
Southeasterly winds from Bay of Bengal would be merging with southwesterly winds from Arabian sea, leading to formation of a confluence zone which will result in light to moderate showers on February 13 and 14 over East Rajasthan. Meanwhile, a fresh Western Disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir would be inducing a cyclonic circulation over West Rajasthan which would further enhance the rains. As per weathermen, intensity of rains would be more on February 14 and rain belt would cover most parts of the state.
Places such as Ajmer, Alwar, Baran, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Bundi, Chittaurgarh, Churu, Dausa, Dhaulpur, Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunun, Karauli, Kota, Nagaur, Pali, Rajsamand, Sawai Madhopur, Sikar and Tonk will experience light to moderate spell of rain and thundershowers with gusty winds. Hailstorm would also occur at some isolated places.
However, cloud cover and intensity of rains would differ as we move from East to West Rajasthan. Most parts of West Rajasthan would remain dry, but cloud cover would lead to fall in temperatures. On the other hand, the fall in temperatures will be steeper over East Rajasthan.
Further, February 15 onward, we expect the above confluence zone to shift over Madhya Pradesh and cyclonic circulation would also become less marked. As a result, rain belt will move from Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh thereby shifting the rain activity accordingly.
Threat of crop damage
With another round of hailstorm, the threat of crop damage looms large over the Rabi crop. At present, most of the crop is at standing stage and are ready for harvesting. These unseasonal weather activities along with strong winds could lead complete destruction of the crop or deteriorate the quality of the grain.
Major crop that would suffer the brunt of rain and thundershowers are Wheat, Coriander, Barley, Bengal Gram, Fenugreek and Mustard.
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