Most of India to receive rain or snow in January: Skymet

NEW DELHI: Barring eastern India, most parts of the country will witness either rain or snow this month due to two western disturbances and a trough, private weather forecasting agency Skymet has said.

Back to back western disturbances will continue to effect Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand throughout January.

"Therefore, rain and snow will also continue over western Himalayas. Models are indicating that few more western disturbances will approach hilly states in the month of February as well," Skymet CEO Jatin Singh said.

Plains of northwest India will also receive good rain from January 24 onward. But isolated rain cannot be ruled out over Rajasthan on January 21 and 22.

An induce cyclonic circulation is expected to form over central Pakistan and adjoining Rajasthan by January 24. This weather system will receive moisture from the Bay of Bengal as well as the Arabian Sea. Simultaneously a trough is expected to form from Haryana to Gujarat.

"Punjab, Haryana, West UP, Delhi, North Rajasthan and northern parts of Madhya Pradesh will receive light to moderate rain/thundershowers from January 24 to 27," Pahlawat said.

A trough is expected to form over southwest Bay of Bengal off Tamil Nadu coast around January 20 and easterly wave will also become prominent.

This will give rain over Tamil Nadu from January 21. Intermittent rain will continue till January 27 over many parts of TN, south interior Karnataka and Kerala.

Light rain is possible at a few places over Maharashtra on January 26-27 due to the interaction of weather system of north and south.

"So we can say that last 10 days of January are going to be the wettest for most parts of the country, except east India," Singh added.