Northwesterly winds have opened pincer-like assault fronts

Northwesterly winds have opened pincer-like assault fronts over northwest India and along the east and northeast India with the seasonally violent weather getting into full gear over the past couple of days.

Queering the pitch was the cross-over of an induced upper air cyclonic circulation from its overnight perch over central Pakistan and adjoining northwest Rajasthan and Punjab.

In an early morning bulletin this (Tuesday) morning, India Meteorological Department (IMD) traced the circulation as having dropped anchor over Punjab and adjoining north Rajasthan and Haryana.

Another upper air cyclonic circulation lies over extreme south peninsular India, signalling the advent of summer showers over the region.

A weather warning issued by the IMD said that isolated thunder squalls would occur over Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, north Orissa and the Northeastern States until Thursday.

Meanwhile, isolated heavy rain has been warned of over Andaman and Nicobar Islands during this period as the low-pressure area over south Andaman Sea persisted.

The IMD said that the western disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir would affect the western Himalayan region until Thursday.

Its weather update on Tuesday morning said that fairly widespread rain or snow has occurred over Jammu and Kashmir and scattered over the Northeastern States, West Bengal and Sikkim until last (Monday) evening.

The rains were isolated over Kerala during this period. Maximum temperatures were above normal by 2-4 degree Celsius over parts of northwest, west and central India and near-normal over the rest of the

country.

Satellite imagery early this (Tuesday) morning showed the presence of convective clouds over parts of Jammu and Kashmir and the Andaman Sea.

Low to medium clouds were seen over parts of the rest of western Himalayan region, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Sikkim, the Northeastern states, Kerala and coastal Karnataka.

Short-term forecasts said that fairly widespread rain or snow would occur over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand until Wednesday.

Widespread rain or thundershowers is also forecast over Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Fairly widespread rain or thundershowers may break out over sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and the Northeastern States.

It will be scattered over extreme south peninsular India and isolated over Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. Isolated dust storms or thunderstorms would occur over plains of northwest

India until Wednesday.

Maximum and minimum temperatures may rise by 2-3 degree Celsius over parts of west and central India. They may not significantly over northwest India during the next three days.

Extended forecasts valid until Saturday said that fairly widespread rain or thundershowers would occur over Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Northeastern States with isolated heavy falls over Andaman and Nicobar