Rainfall, hail and snow hit north India; MeT office warns of more

Rainfall, hail and snow hit north India; MeT office warns of more

New Delhi: Rain and snowfall continue to lash north India, pulling down the mercury with the inclement weather likely to continue in the coming days. It was a chilly day for Delhiites after a spell of relatively warm weather as intermittent rain lashed parts of the city and the maximum dropped to 19.3 degrees Celsius from 26.3 degrees on Monday.

In Kashmir, a fresh bout of snowfall lashed parts of the Valley while Srinagar witnessed rain which marginally brought down the minimum to 2.2 degrees Celsius as against 4.1 degrees the previous night. The summer capital received 2.6mm rainfall during the night. Picturesque Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of -5 degrees Celsius, two notches up from the previous night's -7 degrees, and received 11 inches of fresh snowfall.

The MeT office has forecast heavy snowfall across the Valley over the coming few days with road and air traffic likely to face disruptions. Himachal Pradesh was reeling from intense cold after another spell of heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of the state while the middle and lower hills, including state capital Shimla, were lashed by rain and sleet accompanied by icy, strong velocity winds.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti and Kalpa in Kinnaur district had received 35cm to 40cm snow by afternoon while the sprawling Dhauladhar and Churdhar ranges were covered under 75cm to 100cm of snow. The snowfall and rain has thrown normal life out of gear in several parts of the state including at Dharamsala.

The sky remained heavily overcast throughout the day and the local MeT has warned of more rains and snowfall in the next two days. Uttarakhand, too, saw snowfall in the higher reaches and showers in its plains as temperatures dropped at most places in the state.

The mercury in the state capital of Dehradun plunged by four degrees as most places were lashed by moderate to heavy rainfall with Joshimath receiving the maximum of 33mm followed by Chamoli at 21mm. Heavy snowfall occurred at heights above 3,000 metres at Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri with similar weather conditions forecast for the state in the coming 24 hours.

Several parts of Punjab and Haryana also reported light to moderate rainfall as minimum temperatures rose sharply by up to eight notches above normal in the two states. Chandigarh received rainfall of 3.8mm and recorded a minimum of 13.7 degrees while in Haryana, Bhiwani, with rainfall of 4.6mm saw the mercury settle at a low of 10.4 degrees Celsius.

The weatherman's forecast is for light to moderate rainfall to continue over the coming 48 hours with chances of hail or thunderstorm at isolated places across the two states. Light rain and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in western Uttar Pradesh although the weather remained mainly dry over eastern parts of the state.

Night temperatures rose markedly in Lucknow, Bareilly, Moradabad, Agra and Meerut divisions with rain and thundershowers expected at many places in western UP and at a few places in eastern parts of the state in the next 48 hours.

Rajasthan reported some relief today as the cold subsided in parts of the state where Sri Ganganagar recorded the lowest temperature at 11.2 degrees Celsius. Other places recorded minimum temperatures between 13 degrees to 17.3 degrees Celsius with the MeT department predicting light showers in isolated areas.