Rains Flood Northern India; Storms Target Pakistan and Afghanistan This Week

By Eric Leister, Meteorologist

March 2,2015; 8:21PM,EST

 

 

A potent storm dropped unusually far over the weekend, blasting India and Pakistan with heavy thunderstorms, flooding rain and mountain snow.
The brunt of the storm blasted areas from northern Pakistan to northwestern India on Monday with rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Downpours created flooding problems in and around New Delhi, Lucknow and Nagpur where rainfall of 25-75 mm (1-3 inches) was common.

A return to more typical dry weather is expected across northern India from Tuesday through Saturday. Along with the dry weather, temperatures will climb back to near normal by the end of the week.
While northern India gets a break from the stormy weather, the focus will shift farther north as rounds of rain dampen Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Islamabad has faced three serious flooding events since the middle of February, including two in the past week. Heavy rain fell on Monday triggering the latest round of the flooding.
Rains will linger through Monday night with just a few showers on Tuesday.
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Following a brief break in the storminess on Wednesday, another round of rain will soak the city and surrounding areas on Thursday and Friday.
Even more rain is expected over the weekend. The combination of all these rain events will lead to an elevated flooding risk across the region.
In Kabul and surrounding areas, the stormy weather will bring the threat of both rain and snow. Rain will spread over the area Wednesday afternoon and continue into Wednesday night before mixing with snow and lasting into Thursday.
Snowfall will be limited to slushy accumulations in the city, but the higher terrain surrounding the city could get significant snowfall accumulations.
Dry weather will return on Friday, but then a second storm will bring another threat for rain and snow Saturday and Sunday.
While India receives a break from the rain through Saturday, a storm will bring another round of rainfall to the north by Sunday. This rainfall will likely result in a renewed threat for flooding across the region with similar conditions to what were experienced from the most recent storm.