Pakistan Meteorological Department Lahore has on Saturday forecast widespread rain over upper parts of the country with snowfall over the hills during next 48 hours.
According to the met office, current westerly wave produced scattered rains/snowfall over the hills in northern Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Kashmir and isolated drizzle over north Punjab during last two days. The current weather system is likely to intensify during next 24 hrs, and very likely to produce widespread rain (with snowfall over the hills) over upper parts of Pakistan during next two days.
Widespread rain is expected at a number of places of KP, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Lahore divisions), Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir during next 48 hours. Rain with isolated showers is also predicted for Islamabad on Sunday and Monday.
The met office warned that under the influence of this weather system some upper parts of KP (including Swat, Shangla, Dir, Mardan, Swabi, Charsada, Bunair, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Batgram, Haripur districts) and Kashmir (including Muzaffarabad, Neelum, Kotli and Bagh districts) may receive more rain of moderate to heavy intensity with heavy snow over the hills on Sunday/Monday. Murree and Galliyat would receive snowfall of moderate intensity at times heavy on Sunday and Monday.
Hence, the peoples who are planning to visit Murree and other hilly areas on Sunday/Monday are advised to remain careful due to the risk of landslides along major roads caused by prolonged rainfall and blockage of link roads due to heavy snowfall.
Meanwhile, many parts of country received rain on Saturday, including Dir 33 mm, Pattan 32 mm, Mirkhani 20 mm, Drosh and Chitral 17 mm (each), Garhi Dupatta 14 mm, Parachinar, Balakot and Muzaffarabad 13 mm (each), Saidu Sharif 10 mm, Rawalakot 8 mm, Lower Dir 7 mm, Murree and Chilas 3 mm (each), Kakul 2 mm, Kalam and Kamra 1mm (each), and Mangla, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhang, Joharabad, Mianwali, Gilgit, Skardu, Banu and Astore trace (each).