New Delhi:
Rain and snowfall on Thursday impacted day temperatures in northern region and prompted authorities in Jammu and Kashmir to issue a medium avalanche warning amid forecasts that weather conditions would persist for a while.
It rained in the national capital where the showers, accompanied by cold winds, brought the maximum temperature down to 20.8 degrees Celsius from yesterday's 24.1 although the minimum was recorded at 9.7 degrees, three degrees above normal.
The MeT department said that the city received 0.4mm rainfall through the day, adding that the morning had remained largely fog free.
The weatherman has forecast generally cloudy skies for Friday with fog in the morning. There is also a possibility of rain or thunderstorm in some areas with a dense fog likely to disrupt flight operations in the city on Friday.
Uttar Pradesh, too, received rainfall as light showers in Lucknow and some other places marked a change from the run of bright, sunny days. The MeT office said that night temperatures were up in most divisions across the state.
Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley on Thursday experienced fresh snowfall in the evening, prompting authorities to issue a medium danger avalanche warning in the areas close to the Line of Control and suspend traffic on Srinagar-Jammu national highway.
It started snowing heavily in the summer capital in the evening following intermittent rains throughout the day and a brief spell of snowfall of 6mm last night as minimum temperatures rose to 0.8 degrees Celsius from 0.1 degree the previous night.
"People in snow-bound areas of Naugam, Chowkibal, Machil, Tangdhar and Keran in Kupwara and Gurez sector in Bandipora have been advised against venturing out on steep avalanche prone slopes during the next 24 hours," said Divisional Disaster Management Coordinator, Aamir Ali.
In Himachal Pradesh, middle and upper reaches and the tribal belt received moderate to heavy snowfall. The lower regions, on the other hand, experienced widespread rain, accompanied by strong velocity icy winds.
Intermittent snowfall since the afternoon caused a sharp drop in day temperatures which fell to 0 degrees Celsius in state capital Shimla and at the tourist resort of Manali.
Punjab and Haryana, too, received light to moderate rainfall as the minimum temperatures rose by a few notches in the region.
The MeT department said that Chandigarh, which was lashed by showers this morning, registered a low of 9.2 degree Celsius, three notches above normal while Hisar, in Haryana, received light rain and recorded a low of 13 degree Celsius, a jump of seven notches.
In Rajasthan, temperatures hovered above normal in parts of the state where places like Churu, Jodhpur, Sikar and Nagaur received light rain at night.
The MeT office said that weather conditions would remain unchanged over the coming 24 hours with light rain likely to occur at a few places.