Shanghai?entered this year's peak rain season early and with a bang yesterday, when a heavy thunder storm hit in the afternoon.

Pudong New Area residents reported hail also fell for a time, and weathermen said the rain is expected to continue for a couple of days.

The Shanghai Central Meteorological Station issued a yellow lightning alert at 3:05pm and a yellow rainstorm alert 25 minutes later.

The station said total rainfall was expected to reach 50 millimeters between the afternoon and midnight.

Officials said they had received reports of ice hail falls in Pudong, but it was outside the local monitoring range.

They said rain will continue until at least Wednesday morning. Storms are expected again this afternoon but the rain should tail off from tomorrow. Today's maximum is expected to reach 30 degrees Celsius, but from tomorrow to the middle of the next week, the high will range between 27 and 28 degrees. Lows will range between 21 and 23 degrees.

Forecasters said cold fronts from the north have met warm air at the lower reach of the Yangtze River, forming a stable plum rain belt.

The rainy season has hit a little early. Forecasters had expected it during the second 10-day period of June. The season is also expected to end early, at the start of July.

(Shanghai Daily June 8, 2008)