Even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted no rain in Ahmedabad till the end of this month, the city experienced an unexpected spell of showers on Friday. “Ahmedabad will receive rainfall only today (Friday). Then in the coming five days, there will be rainfall but not in Ahmedabad,” IMD regional director Manorama Mohanty told The Indian Express. Saurashtra and some districts in north and central Gujarat are expected to receive on Sunday and Monday. In Ahmedabad, the unexpected rain delayed the start of an IPL match between home team Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium by 30 minutes on Friday evening. However, no overs were lost as the match began at 8 pm instead of 7.30. Meanwhile, several areas in the city reported water logging and traffic snarls. A total of 17 complaints of trees falling were reported by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's control room, majorly from the east zone. Seven tractors, along with one trimming van, were deployed in the east zone to clear the areas. The weather department has issued a wind warning for Saturday, alerting against "strong surface winds 30-40 kmph very likely to prevail over the region". Attributing the unseasonal rain to the "convective activity", Mohanty explained, "The local convective activity due to a lot of moisture and heat has resulted in this rainfall.” “Light rain (is) very likely in the districts of Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Bharuch, and Anand, Saurashtra including Amreli and Bhavnagar,” the IMD state forecast for Sunday stated. Similarly, on May 29, light showers are expected in Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana, Bharuch, Anand; and Saurashtra.
