Finally, the long wait for winter rains got over for the plains of North India. The higher reaches of Jammu & Kashmir had earlier also witnessed fragmented snowfall and this was yet another repeat of the same, yesterday. Yes, in addition, some favourite destinations of Himachal Pradesh received the season’s first snowfall and the rains lashed the lower hills of Uttarakhand, too. Plains across the northern parts also observed sporadic winter rains over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Following snowfall, Pahalgam and Gulmarg dipped mercury to the lowest of this season at -7°C and -9°C, respectively. The spread of rain and snow was relatively less over Kashmir Valley. Mid and higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh have witnessed the season’s first snowfall. In addition to Lahaul-Spiti, Kufri, Shimla and Manali experienced the season’s first, albeit light snowfall, as per reports. Sispa, Koksar, Keylong, Gandhla, Sissu and Churdhar in Sirmaur district witnessed decent snowfall. Mussorie, Mukteshwar, Pantnagar, Dehradun and Nainital also received light winter showers. Light rainfall was also recorded at Patiala, Ambala, Karnal, Chandigarh, Delhi, Meerut and Bareilly.
Scattered and light weather activity will continue today as well, across the hills. For the subsequent three days, it will shrink and remain confined to the higher reaches. Broad clearance across the mountains is likely from 12th-13thDecember, onwards.
Following the spell of snow, cold wave conditions are likely to intensify across the mountains and the plains. Foothills of Punjab and Haryana will become more susceptible to the cold wave conditions. Places such as Amritsar, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Bhatinda, Rohtak, Hisar and Karnal are likely to dip below the normal by about 4°C, over the next 4-5 days. The cold wave conditions are likely to intensify over the mountains as well, more so on and after 12th December.