LAHORE: Freak rain, heavy at places, and windstorm in the plains of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday threatened the ripened wheat and mango blossoms, dampening the spirits of farmers.

Hail stones further worried wheat farmers who took them as bombs affecting their crop they were about to harvest. Strong wind leveled trees at Rahim Yar Khan and other places blowing away mango flowers.

In Lahore and several other cities, rain caused urban flooding and traffic jams. It nevertheless introduced a nip in the air.

April is a low rain month during which temperatures rise in the plains and over the hills, allowing crops to ripen and starting snow or glacier melting that feeds the country’s water reservoirs. “Its unusual rain, which comes every after around four years in April,” said Flood Forecasting Division Chief Riaz Khan. “Rain, strong wind and hailstones are definitely harmful to crops in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.

Rain also dropped temperatures almost everywhere in the country by several notches. The maximum temperature in Lahore was 27 degrees Celsius as against its normal 34.1 degrees C.

The maximum temperature in Bahawalpur was 32 degrees which normally crosses 40 degrees C mark in this part of April.

Lahore received two spells of rain, one in the morning and another in the late afternoon. The second spell generated heavy rain which was accompanied by hailstones and strong wind.

Many streets were inundated. Traffic remained jammed till in the evening. And it was still raining at 9pm. Lahore has so far received around 50mm of rain as against its monthly average of around 25mm.

The Met office reported 24mm of rain at the airport and 18mm at the Jail Road observatory by 8pm.

It said the freak weather was caused by an accentuated westerly wave that would continue to affect the country during the next at least 24 hours.

It reported that from 8am to 8pm Jhelum received 45mm of rain, Malamjabba 30mm, Gujranwala and Kohat 27mm each, Noorpur Thal 25mm, Mandi Bahauddin and Cherat 24mm each, Mianwali and Lower Dir 18mm each, Bannu and Kotli 17mm each, Sargodha and Dera Ghazi Khan 16mm each, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu 14mm each, Rawalakot 12mm, Chakwal 11mm, Muzaffarabad and Sialkot 10mm each.

The Met office forecast widespread thunderstorm/rain accompanied by gusty winds, along with moderated to heavy falls, over Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, north Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir in the next 24 hours.