IMD forecasts rain, thunderstorms in NW India; heavy rain likely in Assam, northeast

AWrite of stranded thunderstorms, lightning, puffy winds and hailstorms is potential to persist in over the Western Himalayan region and adjoining plains on Monday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warning that a fresh western disturbance (WD) may trigger rain and storms across the region and adjoining northwest India from March 18.“As per our expectation, a WD is impacting NW India and causing rain and thunderstorms. Another WD is coming, it may be a longer spell. We are expecting rainfall over other parts of the country also. There was a hot spell over the country during the last couple of weeks, but now we can expect a fall in temperatures for a few days,” IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over Assam on Monday and heavy rainfall on Monday and Tuesday. Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over Arunachal Pradesh till Tuesday and over Mizoram on Monday.Maximum temperatures are likely to fall by 3–5°C over northwest India during the next two days, followed by a gradual increase of 3–5°C during the subsequent three days, the IMD said.Heatwave conditions prevailed at isolated places over Vidarbha and northwest Odisha during the past 24 hours. Heavy to very heavy rainfall (7–20 cm) was recorded at isolated places over Assam. Heavy rainfall (7–11 cm) was recorded at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh, while hail was reported at isolated places over Assam and Mizoram.The western disturbance, as an upper air cyclonic circulation, is lying over north Punjab and the neighbourhood in the lower tropospheric levels, with a trough aloft in the middle and upper-level westerlies. An upper air cyclonic circulation is also lying over northeast Assam and the neighbourhood in the lower tropospheric levels. Another upper air cyclonic circulation is present over south Haryana and the neighbourhood in the lower tropospheric levels.A trough is also present in the lower and middle-level westerlies. Another trough is running from Marathwada to north interior Tamil Nadu in the lower tropospheric levels.A separate trough is running from the southwest Bay of Bengal off the north Sri Lanka coast to the Comorin area in the lower tropospheric levels. The subtropical westerly jet stream, with core winds exceeding 200 kmph at 12.6 km above mean sea level, prevails over west India.The IMD said that a fresh western disturbance is likely to cause rain, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds along with hailstorms over the Western Himalayan region and adjoining northwest India from Wednesday. The fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the region from Tuesday night, the IMD added.Isolated hailstorms are likely over Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh on March 19; Uttarakhand on March 16; Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh on March 15; east Uttar Pradesh on March 15 and 16; and over Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha till Monday.Thundersqualls (wind speeds reaching 50–60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph) with hailstorms are likely over Uttarakhand on Monday and over Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha on Monday. Thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds (40–50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph) are likely over Jammu & Kashmir–Ladakh on March 18 and 20; Himachal Pradesh on March 18; Uttarakhand on March 18 and 19; Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Punjab on March 19; and west Uttar Pradesh on March 19.The IMD has recommended using hail nets or hail caps in fruit orchards and vegetable crops to protect them from mechanical damage in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram.Isolated thunderstorm activity accompanied by gusty winds is also likely over east and adjoining central India during March 16–19, with peak intensity expected on Monday.