By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Feb. 9: The meteorological office of Kathmandu Monday predicted high probability of second winter rainfall of this season in the Kathmandu Valley and snowfall in major mountainous regions from Wednesday (February 10).
Last Saturday (on February 6), Kathmandu and most parts of the country received the first winter rainfall while the mountainous region witnessed snowfall.
The country had not received any rain for five months.
Meteorologists have also said that the minimum temperature will gradually rise after the rains in the valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts).
Westerly winds entered Nepal and cause a change in weather from last Thursday to Saturday (February 6), resulting in light rain in many parts of the country on Saturday afternoon, according to senior Meteorologist Meen Kumar Aryal at the Meteorological Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM).
Even though it was sunny from morning to evening on Sunday (February 7), people experienced severe cold in the morning and evening, he said.
According to him, it will be cold for a few more days because of the changes in the weather system and rainfall is likely from coming Wednesday.
Meteorologist Manji Bashi at the DHM also said that there was a possibility of rain and snow in most parts of the country from Wednesday.
According to her, light rain is likely in the western mountainous areas and other hilly regions because of the westerly winds.
“There will be clouds and rain in a few places for three days beginning from Wednesday, and this process will continue throughout the month of February,” she said. The Department has urged one and all to be vigilant as it will still be cold even though it is sunny in the day time across the country, including the Kathmandu Valley.
Issuing warnings and advisory for the next 24 hours, several branch offices of the DHM have requested people to take necessary precaution measures as it is still cold and there is still a possibility of fog and mist in the Terai region.
On Monday, the weather remained generally clear in the rest of the country with partial cloud cover in the hilly region of Sudur Paschim and Karnali Provinces. During the night, the weather will be generally clear in most of the places with partial cloud cover only in the hilly region of Sudur Paschim and Karnali provinces, it said.
The weather will generally remain clear in Sudur Paschim, Karnali, Lumbini and Gandaki provinces with partly cloudy in a few places on Tuesday, according to the DHM. “There is a possibility of light rain in a few places in the hilly areas with partial cloud cover across the country on Wednesday. There is a possibility of light snowfall in the high hilly and mountainous areas.”
According to the latest details of the department, the minimum temperature in Kathmandu was measured at 2.5 degree Celsius on Monday and the maximum temperature at 18.5 degree Celsius in the afternoon. The lowest temperature on Monday was measured in Jumla at minus 2.7 degrees Celsius.