The advent of the western disturbances as earlier forecast by the Meteorological department has brought about wide-spread rain in many parts of the State, including Dehradun, on Tuesday. Rain started in Dehradun during the afternoon and it was continuing till the time of filing this report in the evening. The director Meteorological Centre based in Dehradun Bikram Singh said that the wet spell would continue till Wednesday morning. “Things would be clear around 10 am on Wednesday,” he said, adding that it snowed in the mountainous reaches of the State situated at the altitude of 3000 meter and above. He further said that aside from the four shrines located in Rudraprayag, Utarkashi and Chamoli districts, several high-altitude areas of the state recorded heavy snowfall during the day. Taking note of the inclement weather, the Dehradun district administration announced that the schools would remain closed on Wednesday. It is learnt that the same order has been issued for other districts, including Nainital.
Though the day in Dehradun started on a sunny note the climate changed around the noon. Rain- bearing black clouds started gathering and the rain started around the afternoon. The people chose to remain indoors unless forced to get out for works on the rain-drenched, wind-swept day. “I did not leave my home today though I had some works to do. I would go out tomorrow morning if things clear by then,” said an elderly resident of the city.
It is learnt that hordes of tourists from neighbouring states have flocked to Mussoorie/ Dhanaulty areas, expecting to witness snowfall. However, the weather department said that snowfall in these places is unlikely this time.
A senior state agriculture department officer said on Tuesday that the maiden rain this year would augur well for the farmers. “The climate remaining mostly dry during November/ December, this spell would definitely give some relief to the growers of the winter crops. I do not know whether the volume of the rain is sufficient for things to look up. However, it would definitely reduce the rain deficit to some extent the state has been grappling with for months,” the officer said.