A spate of kalbaishakhis (nor'westers) blew over different parts of the country on Tuesday night, triggering thunderstorms as well as rain. The thunderstorms came after a day that saw temperatures soar, recording the highest maximum of 37.2 degrees Celsius in south-western Satkhira, followed by 37C in Jessore. Later in the evening, Satkhira experienced a nor'wester blowing over the area. The nor'wester that struck the south-eastern port city of Chittagong in the early hours of Wednesday was the most severe, with the wind speed reaching 107km per hour at 3.27am. However, the port city recorded a scanty 12mm of rainfall until 6am, Met Office sources said.

In Dhaka, the rain till 6am yesterday (Tuesday) was 50mm. At the same time, 56mm of rainfall, highest in the country, was recorded at  Sitakunda on the outskirts of Chittagong.  It was followed by 40mm at Kumarkhali in Kushtia, 30mm at Patuakhali, 36mm each at Ishurdi and Maijdi Court, 25mm at Rangamati, 29mm at Dimla in Nilphamari, 23mm at Madaripur, 21mm at Faridpur, 12mm at Chittagong, 13mm at Sandwip,15mm at Srimangal, 19mm each in Bhola and Barisal, 11mm at Rajshahi,.

There was one common aspect of the rain and storms at these places. They all experienced a hot and humid day. That led to the  nor'westers, whose source originated in the Indian state of West Bengal. It cut through a trail down Rajshahi in northwestern Bangladesh,  then down to southwestern Satkhira. It passed through southeastern Madaripur, Barisal and Chittagong, before moving out over the Bay, Abdur Rahman, a meteorologist at the Dhaka Met Office, told The Independent yesterday.

A section of it also blew over the capital at 4.18pm, reaching a speed of 87kmph.

However, there were no further kalbaishakhi warnings for yesterday. But rain or thundershowers with lightning, accompanied by temporary gusty/squally winds, is likely to occur at many places in the country during the next 24 hours, beginning at 6pm yesterday, the met office said in its forecast.

Temperatures that had cooled down on Tuesday lingered on yesterday after the rainstorm. This left many suffering from common cold, especially the children.

In its long-range forecast for April, the Met Office said there would be little more than normal rain. Such weather would be followed by recurrence of heat waves in mild-to-moderate and severe forms across the country, ranging from the north, northwest to central regions  of Faridpur, Madaripur and Dhaka at the end of April after a flurry of nor'westers.