Weather alert: IMD warns of intense rain, thunderstorms across India; Kashmir may see heavy snowfall

A prolonged spell of wet weather is set to impact large parts of India over the coming week, with peak activity expected on March 29 and 30, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Isolated heavy rainfall and snowfall are likely over the Kashmir Valley on March 30. 

Northwest India is expected to witness a steady rise in precipitation activity. Light to moderate rainfall and snowfall over Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh on March 27 will intensify into fairly widespread precipitation between March 28 and 30. Uttarakhand is also likely to see increasing rainfall between March 29 and 31, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds reaching up to 60 kmph, IMD said. 

Plains in the region, including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, are also expected to receive scattered rainfall with thunderstorms and strong winds during this period. 

In the Northeast, scattered to fairly widespread rainfall will persist through the week, with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds across states including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and the northeastern hill states. Isolated heavy rainfall is forecast on multiple days, while Assam and Meghalaya may also witness hailstorms and thundersqualls with wind speeds touching up to 80 kmph on March 27, according to IMD. 

Eastern India, particularly Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, is likely to receive widespread rainfall through March 31, with chances of isolated heavy rainfall on March 27 and 28. Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha are also expected to see intermittent rain and storm activity, along with isolated hailstorms in some areas. 

Central India, including Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh, will experience light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds over the next few days, with a possibility of hailstorms on March 29, IMD said. 

Western regions such as Madhya Maharashtra, Marathawada and Gujarat are also in line for rainfall and thunderstorm activity towards the end of March, with isolated hailstorm events expected on March 30 and 31. 

Southern Peninsular India will not remain untouched, with isolated rainfall, thunderstorms and gusty winds forecast across Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu through the week. Lightning activity is likely over Tamil Nadu on March 29. 

Meanwhile, hot and humid conditions are expected to prevail in isolated pockets of coastal Maharashtra, Kerala and coastal Karnataka during the initial days of the forecast period.