PESHAWAR: Heavy rain and snowfall lashed most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s plain and hilly areas on Monday, turning the weather chilly.

Met department said Malam Jabba area of Swat received 48 millimeter of rain, Kakul 23mm, Mardan 22mm, Cherat 20mm, Mirkhani area of Chitral 14mm, Pattan 13mm, Balakot 12mm, Lower Dir 12mm, Upper Dir 9mm, Dera Ismail Khan 3mm and Peshawar 2mm.

The provincial capital also received heavy rain in the early hours on Monday. Some parts of the city witnessed hours’ long power outage after the downpour.

Similarly, upper parts of Hazara division received heavy snowfall and rain, turning the weather cold.

“The unexpected snowfall in the Kaghan valley left the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road blocked at various places, suspending traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan,” Asad Shahzad Khan, assistant director Kaghan Development Authority, told Dawn.

He said the snowfall, which started in the wee hours of Monday in Kaghan valley and other hilly areas of the division, continued intermittently the entire day.

He said the MNJ road was blocked in Soach, Battakundi, Barawai and Basal areas, and the police restricted the movement of motorists and passenger coaches. He asked motorists and drivers of passenger coaches to use Karakoram Highway instead of MNJ road for safe journey.

Meanwhile, Mansehra, Torghar, Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas districts received heavy downpour the entire day, blocking roads to traffic.

The fresh rain spell led to a reduced CNG pressure at fuel stations, causing long queues of vehicles in Mansehra city and its suburbs as demand for heating at homes spiked.

Similarly, weather in Lower and Upper Dir district also turned chilly as it continued raining throughout the day on Monday. According to local residents, it started raining on Sunday night and continued for the whole day.

Mountainous Kair Dara, Dir Kohistan and Lowari Top also received snowfall, dropping the mercury down.

The sudden rainfall brought the temperature down and people started wearing warm clothes as change in weather came from the cold winds coming from the hilltops.

In Bajaur, hailstorm damaged vegetable crops in several areas on Monday.

Residents said the hailstorm lashed several areas of Mamond and Salarzai tehsils, badly damaging various crops.

Swat district also witnessed a drop in temperatures as rain fell in the plains and light snowfall on the mountaintops.

According to Met office in Swat, Mingora, Barikot, Kabal, Matta and Khwazakhela were drenched in rain and cold winds, while Malam Jabba, Mankiyal, Kalam, Utror, Gabral, Mahodand and Matlitan witnessed some snowfall.

The heavy rainfall also caused flash floods in certain areas, causing water levels to rise in streams and rivers.

Simultaneously, as the cold weather set in, the sale of warm clothing surged, with people flocking to shops offering woolen pullovers, sweaters, mufflers and jackets.

The Met department predicated rain-wind/thunderstorm (snow over high mountains) on Tuesday (today) for Chitral, Dir, Swat, Malakand, Shangla, Buner, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Haripur, Swabi, Khyber, Mohmand, Bajaur, Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda, Kurram, Kohat, Hangu, Orakzai, Bannu, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Waziristan and Dera Ismail Khan.

While isolated heavy falls were likely in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Buner, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Kurram and Kohat.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2023