No wet-n-wild I-Day weekend

If you have made bookings at Lonavla or Khandala in anticipation of rains and waterfalls, it might be a good idea to curb your enthusiasm, as the MET department predicts little or no rainfall

If you have made bookings at Lonavla or Khandala in anticipation of rains and waterfalls, it might be a good idea to curb your enthusiasm, as the MET department predicts little or no rainfall

Weary souls, who have made bookings at the hill stations well in advance in anticipation of a long rainy weekend from August 13-15, may end up rather disappointed.

According to officials of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), western region, the offshore trough that was causing the frequent downpours even a fortnight ago, has lost force, as a result of which the city will experienceu00a0 little or no rainfall this weekend.

It has been quite a dry week, as the city last experienced high rainfall on July 31, when Colaba received 102.6 mm and Santacruz 65.8 mm rainfall.u00a0 Since then, it's been quite a dry spell for the city.

"An upper air cyclonic formation brought heavy rains to the city till July 31. This was accompanied by the formation of an offshore trough, which brought in additional rains.

But the trough has dissipated gradually, as a result of which the city has been experiencing less rainfall," said VK Rajeev, director, IMD Mumbai.
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He added, "In any case, July is considered the wettest month of the year, after which the monsoon gradually declines." Rajeev advised weekend holidayers not to anticipate a cool wet weekend from August 13-15.

Tanmay Mahajan, a software engineer from Andheri, said, "We had originally made plans to spend the long weekend at one of the hill stations around Mumbai.u00a0

But we decided to opt for Goa instead, as the hill stations will be no fun without the rains. The beaches are a safer bet."

Upendra Rane, a businessman from Colaba, is rethinking his decision to spend the extended weekend at Lonavla.

"We thought we would enjoy the rains and the waterfalls, but there is no point going there if the weather will be humid and hot. We are hoping for a miracle," he said.

A MET official confirmed Rajeev's forecast, adding, "The temperature has risen by one to two degree Celsius. There is little chance of rain in the next 24 hours.
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The city will continue to experience high temperatures."

Many Mumbaikars, however, will have to make those trips after all, as they had made their bookings well in advance, while the city was still enjoying heavy downpours.

This means that the hotels at the hill stations will be cashing in on last month's rainfall this weekend, with bookings full, in spite of hiked rates.

Suhas Padte, a tour operator from Fort, said, "None of our customers have cancelled their bookings yet, as people want to make the most of the extended weekend.