RAWALPINDI: The heavy rain on Sunday brought a pleasant change to the weather in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The meteorological department recorded 13mm rain at Chaklala and six mm at Shamsabad in Rawalpindi, 44mm at Saidpur, 30mm at Zero Point and 15mm at Bokra in Islamabad. The cold breeze brought down the mercury to 31°C in Islamabad with the humidity level of 95 per cent.

According to the Met Office, a westerly wave is present over upper parts of the country. It said dry weather was expected in central/southern parts of the country.

However, he said rain/wind-thunderstorm (light snowfall over mountains) is expected in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, upper Punjab and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Isolated heavy falls are also likely to occur in Kashmir and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, the water level in Leh Nullah slightly increased but remained below the dangerous level.

However, rainwater accumulated on main roads, including Committee Chowk underpass, Rawal Road and Kashmir Road.

“The water level in Leh Nullah remained low, at six feet at Kattarian and Gawalmandi bridges. However, water accumulated in different parts of the city but we managed to clear the roads within an hour after rain,” Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood told Dawn.

He said Wasa would remain alert to tackle the issue of possible flooding in the next two days.

Taxila

The garrison city of Wah wore a white look on Sunday after receiving an unusual hailstorm. Earlier, the hills had received such a massive hailstorm in 1984.

The hailstorm turned the weather chilly. Amid thick black clouds, the city suddenly received rainfall with a windstorm of heavy intensity at noon, disrupting electricity, road and telecommunication systems in low-lying areas of Taxila and Wah. There were also reports of uprooting of trees and electricity poles at several places due to the windstorm.

“We were playing in Jinnah Park when all of a sudden the hailstorm hit and the whole park wore a while blanket,” said Kiran Javaid.

She said roads turned white which was a rare scene in the city.

Mohammad Kamran, an official of Pakistan Meteorological Department, said the hailstorm occurred due to a possible cloud burst.

He said the hailstorm was distinct from ice pellets as it consisted of balls or irregular lumps of ice.

He said ice pellets fall generally in a cold weather while hail growth is greatly inhibited during cold surface temperatures.

Besides Wah Cantt, Taxila, Hassanabdal, Hazro, Attock and the motorway near Brahma interchange also received heavy hail.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2021