Total of 26.4 mm rain this month,8 mm above normal; more rain expected today Parts of the Capital experienced hail on Tuesday night followed by rains for several hours. The rain continued on Wednesday,though hail was not reported. Temperature,meanwhile,dropped six notches below normal to Januarys level. The mercury is expected to rise from Thursday onwards,when rain stops. Delhi has seen four days of rain this February so far. Till Wednesday evening,the Met department had recorded a total of 26.4 mm of rainfall this month,which is about 8 mm over normal. If the trend continues,this may just be a precursor to another wet year,following what was the wettest year in 32 years. Sneha Jain,who was caught in Tuesdays rain while driving,said: It was as if my car was being pelted with stones. I felt like I was at a hill station and not in Delhi. The Met Department said the hail was caused by favourable conditions of the thunderstorm. Hail is not uncommon in Delhi. It happens whenever droplets get frozen due to the cold, said the weatherman at the Safdarjung Met Department. The first rain this month was on February 7,followed by 14,15 and 16. It was caused by a western disturbance in Jammu and Kashmir which will subside on Thursday. January was comparatively dry,recording only 0.5 mm against the long period average rainfall of 22.6 mm. Temperature in the city dropped to 18.1 degrees Celsius on Wednesday,6 degrees below normal. The minimum temperature was recorded at 12.3 degrees Celsius,one degree above normal. According to the Met department,the trend will be reversed from Thursday,when the maximum will increase and the minimum will decrease. Temperature will remain between 23 and 9 degrees Celsius on Thursday. There may be some rain on Thursday.
