Weather News: Rain Forecast Across Several Gujarat Districts; Three-Day Weather Break Expected
Ahmedabad: Summer hasn’t fully settled in yet, and already parts of Gujarat are getting a short breather. The IMD’s Ahmedabad office says light to moderate rain is likely in several districts between March 18 and 20. Kutch, Saurashtra, South Gujarat, and parts of North Gujarat are in the forecast zone. Central Gujarat should stay dry. The trigger is an upper air cyclonic circulation that has formed over southwestern Rajasthan at around 0.9 km above sea level.
Which Districts Will Receive Rainfall?
Wednesday, March 18: Banaskantha, Patan, and Sabarkantha may get scattered showers. Winds could pick up to 40–50 km/h. In Saurashtra, Jamnagar, Dwarka, and Morbi are likely to see some rainfall. Kutch gets light rain.
Thursday, March 19: The activity spreads. North Gujarat Banaskantha, Patan, Sabarkantha, Dahod, Panchmahal may see thunder alongside the rain. South Gujarat gets a wider hit: Vadodara, Chhota Udaipur, Narmada, Bharuch, Surat, Dang, Tapi, Navsari, Valsad, Daman, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are all in the picture. Saurashtra and Kutch continue to see rain as well Surendranagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Morbi, Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Botad, and Diu included. Winds stay at 40–50 km/h through the day.
Temperatures: A Mixed Picture
The last 24 hours have been dry across Saurashtra, Kutch, Diu, Daman, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. South Gujarat has seen a dip in maximum temperatures — below normal, in fact. Saurashtra and Kutch, on the other hand, are running warmer than usual. Coastal Saurashtra has seen minimums drop; Kutch minimums have gone up.
Ahmedabad stays out of the rain for now. March 18 should be mostly clear, with a high of 37°C and an overnight low around 23°C.
Snow in the Hills
A western disturbance is sitting over northwest and central India right now. No heatwave risk because of it, but temperatures across the region are expected to stay a notch below normal. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir could see heavy rain at isolated spots on March 19 and 20. Himachal may get snow on March 18 and 19. Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Rajasthan are also in the snowfall zone on March 18 and 20. Central India should see stronger winds and thundershowers around March 21. West Bengal, Sikkim, and Odisha are looking at rain on March 20 and 21.
Shimla Bracing for Hail
The Regional Meteorological Centre has put out a hail forecast for Shimla on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, March 20, gets a yellow alert rain and snow both expected that day. Shimla and Solan are in for strong winds 40 to 60 km/h from Wednesday through Friday. Kullu and Mandi, also in Himachal Pradesh, are flagged for heavy rain and snow at scattered locations.