Freak storm hits Thai North

BANGKOK, May 5 (TNA) - Several houses in the northern province of Lamphun were damaged while big trees uprooted and advertisement posters knocked down after a freak storm devastated the province Saturday night. Officials said more than 50 houses in the province were damaged after the storm hit the province while the Meteorological office for the Northern region forecast that tropical and hail storm in the upper part of the North could be seen within the next few days due to the westerly winds prevailing in the region. However, the storm is projected to be less severe than the past one or two days. The tropical storm also hit the northern capital of Chiang Mai last night. City officials are now trying to remove big trees which were fallen. Tropical and hail storm have affected several districts in the past three days, damaging houses and farmland, especially those atop Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain, for the first time in the history. In Bangkok, scattered thundershowers plus gusty winds hit several parts of the city early Sunday. Weather in the capital is expected to be hot during the day with 40 per cent of the total area facing scattered showers. The Meteorological Department has forecast that the sudden change of the weather in the country was caused by the westerly winds covering the North while the southeasterly winds had brought humidity from the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. As a result, several parts of the country, especially the upper part, will encounter scattered showers and windy. (TNA)