Bolt from blue, 30-min rain, storm ravage city

Lucknow: A sudden 30-minute downpour, accompanied by strong winds, caused significant damage across the city on Sunday. The storm, with wind speeds reaching 40-45 km per hour, which uprooted trees, damaged vehicles and toppled boundary walls, left residents grappling with power outage and traffic chaos. Numerous trees and electricity poles were knocked down, blocking major roads and disrupting traffic, causing inconvenience to commuters.There was waterlogging in areas of Gomtinagar and Gomtinagar Extension.
Meteorological officials predict that another thunderstorm is likely to occur by Tuesday, which may cause temperatures to drop by around 1 degree Celsius.
Despite destruction, no injuries or casualties were reported, though several close calls were noted. One incident occurred in Niralanagar, where a tree branch fell on the road, narrowly missing passing vehicles. In another case, a tree branch crushed an unoccupied parked car in the same area.
Several neighbourhoods, including Aliganj, Niralanagar, Mahanagar, and Nishatganj, were left without power as electric poles collapsed, leading to extended outages. Residents of these areas, already burdened by traffic jams, faced further challenges with fallen trees and disrupted electricity supplies.
In Hydel Colony, fallen electrical wires posed serious hazard to pedestrians and motorists. Near the IT crossing, a battery-powered rickshaw was damaged by a falling tree branch and nearby shopkeepers reported significant losses due to the storm. Ramesh Kumar, a shopkeeper, shared his experience, saying, "I had just moved away from my kiosk when the branch fell. If I hadn't moved, I would have been dead."
Aliganj and Mahanagar were particularly hard-hit, with dozens of trees and hoardings crashing down, leading to road blockages and minor accidents. The power supply in Aliganj, Niralanagar, and Mahanagar was cut off for more than two hours due to technical issue, leaving many areas in darkness. Faizabad Road, Badshahnagar, Chinhat, Jagran Crossing and Rana Pratap Marg Crossing were choked with traffic from 3pm to 3:30pm as tree branches and electric poles blocked key intersections.
Residents voiced their frustration over slow response of authorities. A commuter near the IT crossing, Gurmeet, said, "The roads were blocked completely by fallen trees and electric poles. It took me over an hour to move just a few kilometres. The authorities were slow to respond and it created a chaotic situation for everyone."
Power outages were another major concern. Aliganj resident Ritu Sharma spoke about the inconvenience caused by the power cuts. "Power went out for more than two hours, and with the fallen cables, it was too risky to even step outside. It's shameful that such outages are common after every storm even in the state capital."
Lucknow Municipal Corporation officials said that the situation could have been worse if winds had continued beyond half an hour. In charge of LMC's garden maintenance, Ganga Ram Gautam, said, "We received complaints of uprooted trees from 16 locations, all of which were cleared by night." He also urged residents to remain indoors during such weather conditions to avoid potential accidents.
The electricity department, meanwhile, reported no major damage to power infrastructure, although outages were recorded in several areas.
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Another storm in store, temp to drop 1 degree: Met
Lucknow: Meteorological officials predicted another thunderstorm was likely to occur by Tuesday, which may cause temperatures to drop by around one degree Celsius. On Sunday, Lucknow recorded maximum temperature 33.9 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 24.4 degrees Celsius. Senior scientist at the State Meteorological Department, Mohammad Danish, explained, "The thunderstorm was due to cyclonic circulations on the Andhra Pradesh coast. Due to these circulations, there is an easterly flow and heating effect. On Monday and Tuesday, another thunderstorm is expected to hit the city."
The forecast for Monday indicates Lucknow will experience a partly cloudy sky with possibility of thunderous development. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be around 34 and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively. Across the state, light rain is likely to occur in isolated places over West Uttar Pradesh, while rain and thundershowers are expected in a few places over east UP. The meteorological department has issued a warning, stating that thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are very likely to occur at isolated places in eastern UP.