A "kalbaishakhi", or nor'wester, lashed Dhaka, Comilla and Chittagong cities on Wednesday night, triggering some rain as well. It also hit Khepupara. Chittagong recorded windspeeds reaching 96 km per hour, the Met Office said yesterday. Next was Dhaka city, where the velocity of winds was 70kmph. The city recorded a paltry 16mm of rainfall at 9-30pm.
The late evening sudden burst of winds and rain caught people unawares. Most of them were commuters and shoppers returning home. Frequent lightning with bolts of thunder forced people to get away from the open fast.  Some rickshaws that braved the lightning and rain made a quick buck off helpless commuters waiting under porches of malls and markets.
Many areas were without electricity, switched off as a precautionary measure. The dark streets were lighted only by bolts of thunder. The Met Office said Comilla and Khepupara experienced strong winds of 56kmph.
Rain was reported from across the country. Till 6am yesterday, Hatiya experienced the highest 51mm of rainfall, followed by 31mm at Chittagong, 27mm at Faridpur, 23mm atn Mongla, 20mm at Satkhira and 19mm at Rajshahi and Jessore.
The storm was due to the presence of a westerly low pressure, aided by the presence of high moisture in the southerly air from the Bay of Bengal. More rain and gusty winds are expected today (Friday).