Chandigarh, Sep 10 - For the second successive day, Chandigarh and most parts of its neighbouring states Punjab and Haryana were lashed by heavy to very heavy rains Thursday.

Nearly 50 mm of rainfall was recorded in Chandigarh Thursday till 3 p.m. whereas 106 mm rainfall was recorded here Wednesday.

'These showers are not exceptional as every year we expect rainfall around this time. In fact, the rain will gain momentum Friday and gradually subside Saturday,' Chatar Singh Malik, director of meteorological centre of Chandigarh told IANS Thursday.

He added: 'Today (Thursday) we had heavy rainfall all over Haryana and Himachal Pradesh while the south-eastern parts of Punjab received heavy to very heavy rainfall. It has also led to substantial decline in the day's temperature.'