Heavy rain, snowfall expected in most areas of country from Saturday: Met Office

A fresh spell of heavy rain and snowfall is likely to begin from Saturday in most areas of the country under the effect of a "strong westerly weather system," the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The weather system is expected to enter the western and upper parts of Pakistan on Saturday evening or night, after a long dry period, a statement by the Met Office said.

"It is likely to grip most parts of the country on Sunday and may persist till Tuesday," the forecast said.

The press release noted that isolated heavy showers are expected in Balochistan's Quetta, Ziarat, Pishin, Zhob, Qila Abdullah, Nokkundi, Dalbadin, Noshki, Turbat, Panjgur, Peshawar, Pasni, Jiwani, Lasbela, Kalat, Khuzdar, Mastung, Nasirabad, Jaffarabad, Jhal Magsi, Bolan, Sibi, Kohlu and Barkhan areas of Balochistan on Saturday and Sunday.

Upcountry likely to be in the grip of a cold wave

The Met Office warned that heavy rain may cause flash floods in some areas of Sibi, Bolan, Kalat, Khuzdar, Nasirabad, and Kohlu.

It said that downpour of rain will also likely be experienced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) Chitral, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Kohistan, Shangla, Buner, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Charsaddda, Bajaur, Kurram, Waziristan, and Kohat regions during this period.

Heavy and isolated spells of rain are also expected in Punjab's Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Rajanpur, Multan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Okara, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, and Rahim Yar Khan areas over the weekend, and in Sindh's Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Mirpurkhas and Khairpur regions.

Heavy and isolated spells of rain are likely in Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan from Sunday to Tuesday, Met Office said.

It further said that Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Sargodha, Khushab, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, and Kasur in Punjab are also expected to receive heavy rain between Sunday and Tuesday.

Murree and Galiyat in Punjab, Neelum valley, Bagh and Rawalakot in Azad Kashmir, Naran, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Malam Jabba, and Kaghan in KP and Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu, and Astore in the Gilgit-Baltistan region are expected to receive snowfall between Sunday and Tuesday.

Snow is also expected in Balochistan's Quetta, Pishin, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah, Harnai and Chaman on Saturday night and Sunday.