Many areas in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand got covered with a thick blanket of snow on Friday as it snowed as per the weather forecast. Rainfall was also reported from various parts of the high altitude regions till Friday evening.
Munsiyari received 8 mm rainfall while Tehri 0.5 mm, Tyuni 11 mm and Uttarkashi 6 mm. Dehradun witnessed a drizzle during morning hours. Snowfall has been reported from Auli as from Chamoli, Kedarnath, Rudraprayag, Champawat, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh.
Uttarakhand Meteorological Centre said heavy rain/snow would lash the five mountainous districts on Saturday too.
Notably, the Met officer has issued a warning on Friday of widespread rain/snow for many places in the high altitude places in Uttarakhand.
Taking note of the warning, the senior administrative officers have also issued directives to their sub-ordinates to be alert and to take measures to ensure that the people living under their jurisdictional areas do not suffer.
The Met director Bikram Singh said things are likely to improve by Sunday.
Heavy to very heavy snowfall is likely to occur at isolated places in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts on Saturday, he said, adding that Dehradun would have cloudy sky all through the day.
light rain/thunder showers are likely to occur in some areas in the district too, Singh said. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 16ºC and 09 ºC respectively in Dehradun on Saturday, he added.
The weather forecast for Uttarakhand on Saturday is light to moderate rain/ snow at many places across the State.
The Met director further said that the mercury across the State had plunged a few notches under the impact of rain/ snow. “In places where it snowed and rained the mercury plummeted by four to six degrees below the normal,” he said.
He attributed the sudden change in the weather to the western disturbances sweeping over the State. Hailstorm/thunder squall is likely to occur at isolated places in the plains, especially in Dehradun and Haridwar districts, on Saturday.
Singh further informed that the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 20.5 ºC and 10.7ºC in Dehradun while it was 10.6ºC and
7.6ºC in Tehri, 15.6ºC and 4.2ºC in Mukteshwar and 21.9ºC and 6.1ºC in Pantnagar on Friday.