Due to a fresh Western Disturbance, widespread rain and thunderstorms are expected over the western Himalayan region between March 21 and 24, the Indian Meteorological Department said on Friday (March 19).
However, as no Western Disturbance is expected between March 24 and 31, it will lead to a rise in maximum temperatures over northwest India and other parts of the country in the last week of March, IMD said in its forecast for the next two weeks.
The temperatures between March 18 to 24 are likely to be in the normal range due to the influence of a Western Disturbance. It is also very likely that no heatwave conditions will persist over the country during the next five days.
Due to the intense Western Disturbance, scattered to widespread rainfall is likely over the western Himalayan region and light to moderate rainfall over plains of northwest India from March 21 to 24.
A cyclonic circulation over central India is likely to cause scattered rainfall with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds (speed reaching 30-40 kmph) over Madhya Pradesh, Vidharbha and Chhattisgarh during the first half of the week.
Hailstorms are also expected in Madhya Pradesh, Vidharbha, east Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada and Telangana till March 20 while isolated rainfall/ thundershowers are likely over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Telangana, Kerala and Mahe, coastal and south interior Karnataka during most days of the week.
Northwest India, adjoining central India and extreme south Peninsular India will likely get above normal rainfall while many parts of North peninsular India are likely to witness normal to above normal rainfall.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall/ snowfall is likely at isolated places over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad and Himachal Pradesh.
But in some bad news, due to the absence of any active disturbance between March 24 to March 31, rainfall activity is likely to be below normal over northern parts of the country.
On Thursday (March 18), the highest maximum temperature of 40.1 degree Celcius was reported from Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, across the country. Maximum temperatures are in the range of 34 to 38 degree Celcius over central and north Peninsular India they are above normal by four to six degree Celcius over Saurashtra & Kutch. Over most parts of northwest and adjoining central India, the maximum temperature is above two to four degree Celcius.
♦ Under the influence of an intense Western Disturbance, scattered to widespread rainfall/snowfall likely over the Western Himalayan Region and isolated to scattered light to moderate rainfall over adjoining plains of Northwest India during 21th-24th March.
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) March 18, 2021