Weather updates Himalayas and North India-May 2009

[himadventures]

A western disturbance in Jammu and Kashmir and a cyclonic circulation
over Rajasthan brought unexpected relief from heat for Delhiities as
brief thundershowers in the capital Sunday brought the temperature
down by few notches, Met office said here. “Sudden, but brief,
thunderstorm hit the capital, and a hailstorm was also reported in
some parts. The change in weather was triggered by the western
disturbance in Jammu and Kashmir and cyclonic circulation over
Rajasthan,” an official of the Indian Meteorological Department told
IANS. The thundershowers occurred at 3.32 p.m. and 11.2 mm rain was
recorded. “The minimum temperature on Sunday was 20.6 degree Celsius,
four notches below the normal. The maximum temperature was 40.2
degrees Celsius,” the official said. “During the next 24 hours, sky
will remain partly clouded with a possibility of more thunderstorms
and rain,” the official added. The brief hailstorm brought traffic to
halt at many places. “I got stuck in the hailstorm at Ring Road. As
the result of hail and wind, branches of the tree snapped and blocked
the main roads. Traffic jams were also caused as two-wheeler riders
stopped due to hail,” said Rohit Sharma, a commuter. A few people
decided to avoid the duststorm by not stepping out. “Going by the
pleasant weather this morning, my husband and I decided to go to Nehru
Park in the evening, but there were loud thundershowers so we had to
decide against it,” said Neera Gupta, a homemaker. Posted in India |
No Comments » Rohtang Pass temporarily closed to traffic due to snow
May 10th, 2009 Shimla, May 10 (IANS) The Rohtang Pass, at an altitude
of 13,050 feet in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, was temporarily
closed for vehicular traffic due to heavy snow, officials said.



The pass was opened to the traffic after four months’ closure earlier
this month. “The road link to the tribal Lahaul Valley through the
Rohtang Pass was temporarily closed this (Sunday) morning due to heavy
snow,” Kullu Deputy Commissioner M. Sudha Devi told IANS by phone.
“The traffic has been closed to avoid any mishap due to accumulation
of snow (on the road). The traffic will be restored as the snow-
clearing operation is completed,” she added. However, the work to
completely open the 475-km Manali-Leh National Highway 21 is in
progress. S.K. Doon, commander of the 38 Task Force of the General
Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) - a wing of the Border Road
Organisation that maintains the highway - said the complete opening of
the Manali-Leh highway was going on at a fast pace at different
locations. “Our priority is to make the 60-km stretch between Manali
and Rohtang Pass again motorable so that the link to the Lahaul Valley
would be restored,” he added.

SOURCE: http://www.himadventures.net/outdoor_forums/node/326