Snowfall hits Nepal as ‘severe’ weather rolls across country

Jan 25, 2018-Several parts of the country woke up to thick blankets of snow on Wednesday, as the band of ‘severe’ weather moved in from the west. The westerly wind, which has entered the country on Tuesday night, brought light to moderate rainfall in different parts of the country whereas the upper regions experienced snowfall.  According to Raju Pradhananga, senior meteorologist with the Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD) the westerly wind entered the country from the west.  “The westerly wind reached central and eastern parts of the country by the morning, which resulted in rainfall and snowfall,” he added.
Districts in the higher mountainous regions received snowfall due to the influence of westerly wind. As a result, most of the places in rest of the country, including Kathmandu Valley, experienced rainfall.  According to the MFD records, Dadeldhura received the highest rainfall on the day at 12.5mm, followed by Birendranagar 7.5mm, Dang 7.4mm, and Dhangadhi 6.6mm in the last 24 hours. Kathmandu received 6.1mm of rainfall over the period. Snowfall affected life in high-altitude areas of various districts with increasing cold and bringing life to a standstill in many places on Wednesday.  Rainfall accompanied by snowfall affected people in Manang, Mustang, Jumla, Humla, Dolpa, Mugu along with the higher altitudes of Taplejung, Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga, Darchula, Dolakha, Gorkha and Rasuwa districts. Most of the road sections in the high-altitude areas were disrupted as a result. Jumla witnessed its first snowfall of the season from Tuesday night, with district headquarters Khalanga covered with a thick blanket of snow.  The sudden winter rains, however, elated farmers waiting for better winter crops. The farmers in the mountainous districts are hopeful that their crops will yield  good harvest following the snowfall.  The MFD said the weather would improve from Thursday as the westerly wind has already passed out of the country through the eastern region.  “The influence of the westerly wind would be greatly reduced by this evening. The weather throughout the country will be cleared after the departure of the westerly wind,” said Pradhananga.

This was the second winter precipitation of the year after rains on December 12 and 13 in some parts of the country.  Such rainfall in winter is normal and a regular annual event, the weatherman said, adding that the westerly wind is the main agent behind winter rainfall.




Published: 25-01-2018 08:04


source: kathmandupost.ekantipur.com