A sudden heavy rain hit a large portion of southern Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, on Thursday, surprising local residents with such unusual weather in the heart of the dry season.

The unseasonal downpour, beginning around 4:00 pm on Thursday in the southern metropolis and lingered until well after dark, was accompanied by occasional clashes of thunder.

By 10:30 pm, the storm had moved over several areas of the city, with the highest recorded rainfall topping 110 millimeters in District 8, followed by Binh Tan District and District 7.

Over 20 locations across the southern hub were inundated by the abnormal rain, with An Duong Vuong Street, Ho Ngoc Lam Street, and An Lac Roundabout in Binh Tan District, Nguyen Huu Canh Street in Binh Thanh District, and Huynh Tan Phat Street in District 7 being among those hit hardest by the rain.

Provinces throughout the Mekong Delta, such as Long An, Tien Giang, Kien Giang, Vinh Long, and Soc Trang were also affected by the unseasonal rain, which began moving into those areas as early as 2:00 pm on Thursday, threatening local agriculture and aquaculture operations.

The wet weather has been present in some localities in southern Vietnam for about two days, Dang Van Dung, deputy director of the Southern Meteorological Forecast Center, said.

During an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Le Thanh Hai, deputy general director of the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, stated that the unseasonal rain was caused by a strengthened equatorial convergence zone near the equator.

Such a phenomenon happens every five to seven years, Hai said, adding that similar weather patterns are expected to occur throughout Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces over the next few days.