Lucknow, Jul 29 (IANS): Heavy rains lashed Lucknow and other neighbouring areas on Friday morning even as the Met office predicted more downpours over the next two days across Uttar Pradesh.

The rains started Thursday night and continued till Friday morning, bringing much needed respite from humidity.

Regional Met Director J.P.Gupta said the sky would be overcast for the next few days and predicted heavy to very heavy rains in the city and eastern parts of UP.

Following rain, the mercury plummeted by over 2 degrees celsius.

The minimum and maximum temperatures has dropped in the last 24-hours. While Lucknow recorded 20 degrees Celsius, Kanpur 22.1 degrees Celsius, Allahabad 22 degrees Celsius, Jhansi 24 degrees Celsius and Gorakhpur 20 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, many areas in UP continued to be hit by floods.

Shravasti, Barabanki, Bahraich are the worst hit and officials said efforts were on to rescue people marooned in the waters.