Kolkata, Feb 28 (IANS): As many as 13 districts of West Bengal received moderate to heavy rainfall for the third day in a row on Wednesday while Met officials predicted improvement of weather conditions from Thursday.

The Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata said that the trough of low pressure from east Bihar to north Odisha across east Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level has become less marked.

"Weather condition is likely to improve from February 28 evening," it said.

A thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and hail and light to moderate rain affected Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Kalimpong, Malda, North and South Dinajpur Birbhum, Murshidabad, Purulia, Bankura, and West Bardhaman districts.

Heavy rain occurred at one or two places over Hooghly, East & West Midnapur districts of south Bengal.

These places received 2-11 cm rainfall during the day.

Trees were uprooted in some parts of Kolkata slowing the pace of the vehicles. Water also accumulated in some parts of the city.

The continuous downpour caused landslide blocking and damaging a road in Gurpuripal of West Midnapur district.

The maximum recorded temperature in Kolkata was 25.1 degrees Celsius, while the minimum played around 17.1 degrees.

In view of squally weather over north Bay of Bengal, fishermen of West Bengal have been advised not to venture into the sea along and off West Bengal and Odisha coasts during the next twenty-four hours.

At least eight persons, including a father-son duo, were killed and normal life disrupted since Monday as rains, accompanied by thunderstormm lashed Kolkata and other southern West Bengal districts.