The month of October is the transition phase where the withdrawal of Monsoon is over and the chilly winter is yet to set in. The process is further taken forward by a series of Western Disturbances, which pave way for the onset of winter.
After the withdrawal of Southwest Monsoon this season, the first active Western Disturbance caused widespread rain and snow in many areas of the hills of North India. The most affected areas were Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh where good showers were observed with snow in the higher reaches. Uttarakhand also received rain at some places.
In the last 24 hours from 8:30 am on Wednesday, Jammu received 27.8 mm, Gulmarg 16.6 mm, Dharampur 23 mm, Chamba 14.5 mm, Hamirpur 13 mm, Batote 7.8 mm, Dehradun 12.2 mm, Srinagar 6.2 mm, Uttarkashi 16 mm, Mukteshwar 16.6 mm, and Tehri 8.2 mm.
Widespread rain was not only confined to the hills, but the plains of North India also received good showers. Places including Delhi-NCR, parts of Punjab and Haryana as well as some areas in Uttar Pradesh received rainfall. In the last 24 hours from 8:30 am on Wednesday, Amritsar recorded 13 mm of rain. The intensity of rain was more along the foothills.
This rainy spell has resulted in a steep drop in the maximum temperatures over the hills of North India. Banihal recorded 15.5°C as its maximum, which is 9 degrees below normal, Pahalgam 6.6°C (10 degrees below normal), Chamba 21.8°C (10 degrees below normal), Srinagar 14.5°C (7 degrees below normal) and Hamirpur 24.9°C (6 degrees below normal).
These rainy spells usually inch towards the beginning of wintry conditions. After the rain, a chill in the air has taken over during the evening and late night hours. With half of October already gone, winter is not that far away.
Image Credit: india.com
