Cyclone Mandous: Damp weather in state likely till Sunday

On Friday, Bengaluru recorded maximum temperature of 21.6 degrees, much lower than the 26-28 degrees reported over the past week

The chilly weather due to cyclone Mandous is expected to continue in Karnataka till Sunday. Light to moderate showers are expected in south and coastal Karnataka until then.

On Friday, the city recorded maximum temperature of 21.6 degrees, much lower than the 26-28 degrees reported over the past week.

The city also saw the rare phenomenon of ‘lower minimum temperature’ on Friday - this is when daytime temperature is lower than the temperature recorded in the early morning. “The ‘minimum temperature’, recorded half an hour before sunrise, was 18.8 degree Celsius. But the day time temperature, recorded at 2.30 pm, was lower than this - 17.6 degrees,” said A Prasad, who heads IMD’s meterological centre in Bengaluru.

The chilly weather in the city is due to cold, strong winds and cloudy skies caused by the cyclone. As of 7 pm on Friday, the cyclone was close to the Chennai coast, causing severe rains there.

Clouded skies have limited the temperature drop in Bengaluru, but North Interior Karnataka saw even lower temperatures due to clearer skies. “Districts like Bidar, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Raichur and Gadag have reported low temperatures, with one station even reporting minimum temperature of 6.9 degrees,” Prasad said.

After crossing Chennai on Friday, the cyclone is expected to weaken into a depression, and pass over Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkamagaluru and the Ghat areas on Saturday. Hence light to moderate rains are expected here on Saturday, with a couple of areas seeing heavy rainfall.

On Sunday, the depression is expected to cross over coastal Karnataka, causing rains there too, and then emerge into the Arabian Sea.

“The weather will start improving from Sunday, and from Monday the skies will be clear,” Prasad said.