The Hindu Business Line : Wet weather forecast for North retained

Leading weather models have retained their forecasts of ‘some wet weather’ being unleashed over the cold but unprecedently dry plains of north and northwest India by the weekend or so.

This would happen in tandem with the arrival of a large-amplitude western disturbance that weathermen expect would be able to work around the ‘blocking high’ over Pakistan, which has been thwarting predecessor rain-bearing disturbances bound for India.

WESTERLY TROUGH

Forecasts made by the Ministry of Earth Sciences Models suggest that a westerly trough is likely to affect the hilly regions of northwest India during January 4-5. This would be a spin-off from the unsettled weather, including rain, forecast to emerge upstream over the northern half of Arabia to Iran over the next few days.

This, according to Mr Jim Andrews of AccuWeather.com, would result from a strengthening of the sub-tropical jet stream that guides the westerly systems in the region.

VIOLENT WEATHER?

The impending system is expected to cross over into northwest India around the weekend. In fact, some forecasts indicate the possibility of the system tracking a south-southeast direction, and, going forward, negotiating the southeast coast to dip into the Bay of Bengal.

Along the way, it would have triggered some violent weather, these forecasts suggest. This would need further confirmation, according to some winter weather watchers. In any case, the event is expected to clear the way for more moisture-laden systems to cross in from the northwest.

Meanwhile, cold to severe cold wave conditions prevailed over many parts of the Indo-Gangetic plains and over isolated pockets of north Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch on Tuesday. Current meteorological analysis suggests that the cold wave conditions over these regions are likely to continue here as well as over plains of northwest India during next two days.

An easterly wave, the southerly counterpart of a western disturbance, is expected to bring scattered rain and thundershowers to the south Tamil Nadu coast and the rest of the extreme south peninsula by the weekend.