The northernmost parts of the country will witness a fresh spell of rainfall and snowfall from the start of next week, as a fresh western disturbance is set to impact the region.
According to The Weather Channel’s met team, isolated to scattered rainfall and/or snowfall, along with lightning, are expected over parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh from Monday to Wednesday, December 13-15.
These conditions will be caused by a fresh western disturbance, which will begin affecting the weather across the Western Himalayan Region from Sunday night, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
These western disturbances are essentially low-pressure systems that originate over the Mediterranean Sea, and are then pushed towards India by high-altitude westerly winds. Along the way, they gather moisture from various sources, including the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas, and the precipitation is then dumped over North, Northwest, and at times, even Northeast India.
As the intensity of the forecasted rain/snow spell will be light, no weather warnings have been issued over any of the districts across the three states and UTs. No major disruptions appear to be on the cards either, although some change in the predicted weather does remain a possibility.
The incoming disturbance will, however, lead to a notable change in the mercury levels, with the daytime temperatures expected to fall below average across the Western Himalayan Region from Monday onwards. The minimum temperatures may also undergo a dip.
In fact, the night-time temperatures in the region are already witnessing a downward trend. During the early hours of Saturday, December 11, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far as it shivered at -3.6°C.
Jammu city recorded a minimum temperature of 6.7°C, Katra registered 7.2°C, Batote 4.4°C, Banihal 6.8°C and Bhaderwah -0.1°C. Further, Pahalgam recorded -6.4°C, Gulmarg -5.5°C, Drass town of Ladakh had -18°C, Leh -14.6°C and Kargil -10.6°C as their respective minimum temperatures.