Meghalaya, the beautiful hilly state happens to be one of the smallest states in India. Meghalaya is mostly hilly with an undulating terrain. The main air link for tourists is the city of Guwahati which lies in the state of Assam.
Meghalaya also boasts of a man-made lake called the Umium Lake, also known as Bada Pani. The highest peaks in Meghalaya are around Shillong, the state capital.
Shillong is also divided into three parts with the lower Shillong being at an elevation of 4908 feet, Upper Shillong at 5600 feet, and Shillong Peak at 6449 feet, which happens to be the highest in the state of Meghalaya.
As far as the state is concerned, couple of places witness sub zero minimums with parts of Upper Shillong and peak observing low temperatures frequently. However, the state of Meghalaya, despite being on a higher elevation, does not witness any snowfall activity.
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Due to low temperatures and humidity, layers of frost develop over the region giving a resemblance of snow, however, snowfall occurrences are not seen in the state of Meghalaya.
A few of the reasons why the state of Meghalaya does not receive snow are:
Firstly, Meghalaya is located south of Assam Valley and is not a part of the Himalayan ranges which run from Jammu and Kashmir across Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim. Even locations which lie on a lower elevation in the Himalayan ranges witness snowfall activities. Places which are situated in the Himalayan ranges have suitable weather for snowfall to occur.
Secondly, for snowfall activity to occur, several factors are to be considered which includes very low temperatures up in the clouds where snowflakes are formed and on the ground level as well. If the air near the ground level is warm, it is not conducive for snowflakes to sustain which is why they melt resulting in a no snow show.
Thirdly, the state of Meghalaya lies in the tropical latitudes close to the Tropic of Cancer which inhibits the occurrence of snowfall. Other than the areas that lie in the Himalayan ranges, it does not snow anywhere that lies in the vicinity of the Tropic of Cancer.
Lastly, the Western Disturbances from Pakistan track northeastwards and affect the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Thereafter, they move towards the Himalayas without affecting the state of Meghalaya. Thus, the effect of the disturbances in the Western Himalayas is also not felt over the state.
Image Credit: iwif.in
Please Note: Any information picked from here must be attributed to skymetweather.com
