LAHORE, May 23: A strong windstorm and rain lashed city in the early hours on Friday, breaking a four-day spell of hot and dry weather.

The storm and the rain evaporated the impact of the hot weather. The day’s maximum temperature plummeted to 34.8 degrees C. It was 41.7 degrees C on Thursday.

The city had recorded the highest maximum temperature (44.3 degrees C) of the season on May 19. It was 43 degrees C on May 20 and 43.7 degrees C on May 21.

The local meteorological office reported light rain in some other parts of the northern Punjab, the NWFP and the northern areas during the past 24 hours.

Occasional rain and partly cloudy weather has kept breaking heat spells. The latest four-day spell was perhaps the longest.

According to the Met office, a duststorm having a maximum gust of 90km per hour first hit the city. It was followed by rain which lasted about an hour. It recorded 10.4mm of rain at the airport and 10.2mm at its Jail Road observatory.

Many trees and bill boards were uprooted and several streets were inundated after the rain. Rainwater was not cleared in many localities, including the Hall Road and the Lawrence Road, till afternoon.