Yet another western disturbance is holding short of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The earlier weather system is barely vacating this area when a fresh one knocks with more vigour and speed. An intense spell of snow is expected across Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh over the next 3 days between 25th and 27th February. The fresh system will transgress across Himachal Pradesh and make incursion even over the state of Uttarakhand albeit milder than the other parts. Hailstorm and thunderstorm with lightening will also go along with snowfall activity across many parts of northern hilly states. The activity will be more intense on 26th February with respect to spread, speed and ferocity.
A set of weather systems have lined up to move across the hilly states of North India. Though it has been snowing for the last few days, but not sufficient enough to catch up with the normal figures. The month of February is more rainiest than January across all the hilly states. However, the active western disturbances were far and few leading to large deficiency in all the states. Top of the list is Himachal Pradesh with a shortfall of 69% and close behind is Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir with a flaw of 55% and 49% respectively. The expected spell over the next 3 days may shrink this margin and improve the weather stats for February.
Snowfall could be heavy at few places and has the potential to cause blockade of highways and arterial roads. The accumulated snow pose a threat of avalanche in the aftermath over mid and higher reaches. This caution is more applicable for the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. While the day temperature is expected to drop to a low single-digit, the mercury may slip to freezing point during the night at popular destinations like Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Manali.
