ISLAMABAD: Widespread rain and thunderstorms are expected in parts of the country including the twin cities, along with snowfall over the kills of Murree and other areas on Tuesday.

According to the Met Office, a westerly wave is affecting the western parts of the country and likely to grip upper parts on Tuesday, possibly persisting until Wednesday.

The forecast stated that widespread rain-thunderstorms are expected in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – in the Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan and Kohat divisions – as well as northeast Punjab in the Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Lahore divisions, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.

Rain and thunderstorms are also expected at scattered locations in the Quetta, Kalat, Zhob, Makran, Bannu, D.I. Khan, Sargodha and Multan divisions.

The report said snowfall is expected over the kills in the Malakand division (Swat, Chitral, Kalam, Malamjabba and upper Dir), the Hazara and Quetta divisions, and Murree, the Galiyat, Kashmir and GB on Tuesday.

Murree and the Galiyat received heavy snowfall last month, bringing a number of tourists to the area.

The Met Office reported that the weather has remained cold and dry in most of the country in the last 24 hours. However, it rained in isolated places in the Makran and Quetta divisions.

The lowest temperatures recorded were Skardu -11°C, Kalam and Gupis -7°C, Bagrote -6°C, Astore -5°C, Hunza, Parachinar and Malamjabba -3°C, Rawalakot, Murree and Mirkhani -2°C, and Dir, Drosh and Gilgit -1°C.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2019