After Thursday’s scattered showers brought the first meaningful relief in over a week from the heatwave that had held the Chandigarh tricity and the broader Punjab-Haryana region in a vice-like grip, Friday turned out to be a dry day; there were partly cloudy skies with no rain and a gentle reprieve before the next spell of active weather arrives.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded a yellow alert for thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds of 30 to 50 kilometres per hour at isolated places across Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana from Saturday, valid through Thursday, with the possibility of scattered rainfall at isolated places across the entire period. IMD forecasts a rise in maximum temperature of about 2 degrees Celsius over the next 48 hours, followed by a fall of three to four degrees thereafter.Today’s weatherFriday was dry and partly cloudy in Chandigarh. The maximum temperature dipped marginally by 1.6 degrees from Thursday to touch 35.2 degrees Celsius, 2.3 degrees below normal, marking a significant contrast from the blazing 41-degree readings of barely a week ago. The minimum temperature held at 19.8 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees below Thursday night and a comfortable 3.5 degrees below normal, confirming that nights have returned to near-seasonal levels after the prolonged warm night spell of the heatwave period. Relative humidity ranged between 75 per cent in the morning and 32 per cent by afternoon. Chandigarh received 0.7 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours up to 8.30 am on Friday, with the city’s seasonal total since March 1 nudging up to 75.7 mm, 135.1 per cent above the seasonal normal.A week the tricity will not forgetThe heatwave that gripped the tricity from April 20 kept Chandigarh’s maximum temperature above 40 degrees Celsius for five consecutive days, touching a season high of 41 degrees on April 24 and 25, before the first showers arrived on April 28. Punjab peaked at 45.2 degrees at Faridkot on April 25 while Haryana’s Rohtak touched 44.6 degrees on multiple days. Nights simultaneously warmed to season highs, with Chandigarh’s minimum hitting 24.8 degrees Celsius on April 28 night, the warmest night of summer 2026. The continuing thunderstorm-rain yellow alert through next Thursday is expected to keep any return of heatwave conditions at bay for the foreseeable future.Separately, IMD’s monthly weather report for April confirmed that Chandigarh had its wettest April since 2013, recording 48.1 mm of rainfall against a monthly normal of 13.4 mm, a departure of 259 per cent, classified as “large excess”.Punjab, Haryana: Below-normal temperaturesFriday brought light to moderate rain with thunderstorm, lightning, gusty winds and even hailstorm at a few places in Haryana during the past 24 hours, while light rain with thunderstorm and gusty winds hit isolated places in Punjab. Both states recorded temperatures appreciably below normal, a remarkable reversal from the scorching above-normal readings of last week. In Punjab, Bathinda topped the state at 39.2 degrees Celsius, already 2.8 degrees below normal, followed by Abohar at 37.5 degrees and Ludhiana at 35.2 degrees. Chandigarh city at 35.2 degrees, Patiala at 35.6 degrees and Amritsar at 35.8 degrees rounded out the key readings. Punjab’s average maximum was below normal by 2.8 degrees. Mohali received 5.5 mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours. The lowest minimum in Punjab was in Pathankot at 18.3 degrees Celsius.In Haryana, Mahendragarh topped the state at 39 degrees Celsius, well below normal, followed by Rohtak at 38.2 degrees, Hisar at 37.7 degrees and Sirsa at 37.4 degrees. Significant rainfall was reported in Yamunanagar at 7.5 mm, Karnal at 6 mm and Ambala at 3.9 mm. Haryana’s average maximum was below normal by 2.8 degrees and the average minimum was below normal by 2.1 degrees. The lowest minimum in Haryana was 18.3 degrees Celsius in Sonepat.5-day tricity forecast: Rain returns on Saturday, stays through weekSaturday will be partly cloudy with a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 21 degrees, the yellow alert in force. Jattvibeday brings partly cloudy skies with thunderstorm, lightning and rain, maximum 35 degrees and minimum 22 degrees. Monday continues with thunderstorm, lightning and rain, maximum rising to 37 degrees and minimum at 23 degrees. Tuesday holds at 37 degrees maximum and 20 degrees minimum under another thunderstorm-lightning-rain spell. Wednesday closes the five-day window with thunderstorm, lightning and rain at 35 degrees maximum and 18 degrees minimum, one of the coolest days forecast for the season so far.