The weather-maker cyclonic circulation has rolled over east into north Rajasthan overnight erupting varyingly into fog, snow and rains over north-west India.
A weather warning issued by India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that fog to dense fog conditions would reduce visibility mainly over east India on Friday.
SNOW, RAINS
Snow and heavy rains are being forecast for the higher reaches, including Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Going forward, the plains of the region, including the Rabi wheat belt, would receive thundershowers for at least a couple of days.
The minimum temperatures are expected to plunge from their current levels as the westerly system and the cyclonic circulation move further east and away.
The cold that would settle in its wake may lift to some extent with the arrival of a follow-up westerly during the latter part of the next week.
NEXT WESTERLY
This system too is forecast to be of moderate strength, promising associated weather in snow, rain and fog over disparate regions of northwest India.
Meanwhile, latest update from the Climate Prediction Centre of the US National Weather Services has classified the ongoing La Nina in the equatorial east Pacific as a ‘weak to moderately strong' one.
The phenomenon may have peaked already, but could last into April-May, the agency said.
As has been traditionally the case, the 2011 La Nina has been friendly to Indian monsoon.
‘NEUTRAL STATE”
A stronger predecessor had ensured that the 2010 monsoon too would end with reasonably good rains for the country.
According to early forecasts, the equatorial Pacific could relapse into a ‘neutral state' after May.
Implications for India are that the monsoon may not be affected ‘too badly at least in the early phase.'
These are too early long-range forecasts and need to be monitored on an ongoing basis based on dynamic sea and atmospheric conditions.
But at least two major weather international weather models have converged on the view that the monsoon could be ‘reasonably good' to start with.