Rain, snowfall likely in parts of Uttarakhand; temperatures to rise in coming days

The meteorological centre here on Thursday forecast light to moderate rain, thunderstorms and snowfall in higher reaches of Uttarakhands five districts, even as temperatures are expected to rise across the state this week. Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts will likely witness precipitation, with snowfall expected in areas above 3,600 metres.

The meteorological centre here on Thursday forecast light to moderate rain, thunderstorms and snowfall in higher reaches of Uttarakhand's five districts, even as temperatures are expected to rise across the state this week. Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts will likely witness precipitation, with snowfall expected in areas above 3,600 metres. The weather department issued a 'watch' warning for all hilly districts, citing potential thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 30-40 kmph. Rainfall was recorded across the Kumaon region and other parts of the state till 5.30 pm on Thursday. Thal in Pithoragarh recorded 18 mm of rainfall, while Song in Bageshwar received 12 mm. Other areas including Dewal and Dwarhat recorded 14 mm each, followed by Pokhari at 10.5 mm and Nainital at 5.5 mm. Kedarnath received fresh snowfall today. In Dehradun, weather officials said the sky is expected to remain mainly clear to partly cloudy tomorrow with a possibility of light rain or thunder cloud development in some areas. The capital's maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 18 degrees Celsius respectively. Maximum temperatures remained ''markedly below normal'' in the plains and ''markedly below normal to below normal'' in the hills over the past 24 hours. However, officials said maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius during the next three to four days across Uttarakhand. While the hills brace for rain and snow, dry weather is likely to prevail in the plain districts of the state, they added.