Thunderstorms swept the Shanghai city at Monday afternoon under the clash of the periphery of Typhoon Sinlaku and a cold front from the north, and more rain is on the way.

The Huangpu River exceeded the alert level early at Monday afternoon, the Shanghai Flood Control Headquarters reported. The level at the Mishidu gauge reached 3.57 meters, 7 centimeters higher than the alert level.

"The astronomical tide and the typhoon raised the water level," said Zhang Zhenyu, an official at the headquarters. "The condition may continue to the weekend."

Although the storm didn't cause much trouble in the downtown, water collected on roads in Qingpu District and Chongming County, the headquarters said.

Both areas had more than 80 millimeters of rainfall by late Monday afternoon. The Chonggu area in Qingpu had nearly 110 millimeters of rain, the most in the city, officials said.

The typhoon's influence is expected to weaken on Tuesday, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said.

A thunderstorm may still happen early today, giving way to cloudy skies, weathermen said.

From Wednesday to the weekend, cloudy weather will dominate in Shanghai.

(Shanghai Daily September 16, 2008)