Thunderstorms spread across India, reduce pollution levels in New Delhi

Thunderstorms spread across India, reduce pollution levels in New DelhiThe beginning of March was dry across the Delhi area, but rain is forecast for the end of the first week in March.The dry weather will be replaced with stormy weather for the latter half of the week."The jet stream will set up over northern India and send several storms from west to east across the region, triggering showers and thunderstorms," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk.The break from the more stagnant weather pattern will help to improve the air quality across much of the region. Widespread rainfall amounts of 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) are expected, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mm (4 inches) in an area hit by a particularly heavy thunderstorm.Rainfall of this magnitude will be capable of causing flash flooding, including ponding on roadways and in low-lying areas. Locations from New Delhi and Jaipur to Kolkata could all endure travel delays as a result."New Delhi could pick up as much rain as they normally get during the whole month as storms push through into Friday night," added Houk.The normal precipitation for New Delhi for the entire month of March is about 15 mm (0.60 of an inch).In addition to the rain, isolated hail and frequent lightning will also be threats from these thunderstorms. Gusty winds may create dust storms ahead of the rain's arrival.Over the weekend, the dry pattern looks to return to northern India and continue through early next week. However, AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring the potential for more wet weather to return during the middle to late parts of next week.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.