A thunderstorm in Shanghai yesterday afternoon blacked out some areas and postponed the man-made precipitation again.
Most rain fell in the suburban areas. In Jiading District, 59 millimeters poured down in about 90 minutes. Only 5 millimeters fell in downtown areas.
The storm didn't pose much challenge to the local drainage system, officials with Shanghai Flood Control Headquarters said.
But the lightning really caused a mess in some areas.
In the northern part of Baoshan District, the lightning blacked out about 40 business users and 200 residents. The storm brought down five high-voltage electric wires, according to the Baoshan Power Supply Co.
"We will fix up the problem as soon as possible," a company staff member said.
In Putuo District, a witness said the lightning hit a transformer on a telephone pole.
The storm made weathermen abort their plan to try to make artificial rain yesterday.
A plane took off at 2pm from a military airport in neighboring Wuxi City in Jiangsu Province, heading to Shanghai to seed the cloud over the city, before the storm started.
The plane encountered thick cloud on its way and was forced to turn back for safety when it reached Suzhou City about half an hour later.
"The opportune moment to plant the seed is difficult to catch," said Zheng Kai, a local meteorologist. "We should not place too much expectation on the effect."
Officials are waiting for the next chance, but refuse to reveal the date.
The local meteorological center has talked about preparations to induce artificial rain since late June.
Conditions have so far restrained them from putting the plan into practice.
To precipitate the rain, a plane will fly over the city to seed clouds with silver iodide as a catalyst.
The meteorological bureau has budgeted 4.7 million yuan (US$566,000) for the project.