Aug starts with a bang, more to follow

Kolkata: Repeated spells of moderate to heavy showers lashed Kolkata on Wednesday as a cyclonic circulation formed over north Bay of Bengal. Clouds hovered around the city from early in the morning, with the rain intensifying in the afternoon.
According to weathermen, the monsoon trough, which now passes through Sriniketan, Diamond Harbour and stretches across to the northeast Bay of Bengal, has contributed to the wet weather and will continue to trigger rain across south Bengal till August 6.
While the city received 22mm rain till 5.30 pm, north and south 24 Parganas, east and west Burdwan, Hooghly, east and west Midnapore and Howrah were lashed by heavy to very heavy showers on Wednesday. Kolkata will continue to receive light to moderate rain on Thursday ads well, the Met office said. A heavy to very heavy rain warning has been issued for East Midnapore on Thursday. West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura may receive heavy rain on Friday.
While Kolkata received moderate rain till an intense afternoon spell, the northern and eastern parts of the city were drenched by heavier showers. Dum Dum and Salt Lake recorded 83mm rain till 2.30pm on Wednesday. “A 8-9km tall cloud column sailed into the city from north Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh. It has been supplemented by the monsoon trough that now passes through Gangetic Bengal. While southern parts of Kolkata received moderate rain, the showers were heavier in the north,” said Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) director G K Das.
The consistent three-day downpour across Gangetic Bengal may lead to a rise in water -level in rivers, some of which are already overflowing and have flooded extensive areas across Midnapore and Hooghly, warned the RMC. Low-lying areas in cities, suburbs and villages could be waterlogged and traffic congestion due to intense rain has been predicted. There could be damage to standing crops in the field, the warning said.