Bhubaneswar: Heavy rain lashed the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack around 2 pm on Monday.
The Nor’wester-triggered rain and thunderstorm provided much-needed relief to citizens from the high humidity that the cities were experiencing for the past few days.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange warning for the twin cities for the next 30 minutes.
“Moderate to intense thunderstorm with one or two intense spells of rain along with gusty surface wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph likely to continue in some parts of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack city area for another 30 minutes,” it said.
People have been advised to keep a watch on the weather and accordingly move to safer places to protect themselves from lightning strikes.
The IMD had earlier issued thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and light to moderate rain alert for nine districts of Odisha.
The weather condition will prevail in Nayagarh, Cuttack, Khurda (including Bhubaneswar), Dhenkanal, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada and Koraput for the next three hours, it said.