Various hill and mountain districts witnessed heavy snowfall as the entire country witnessed rainfall on Saturday.

Even the hills surrounding the Kathmandu Valley were blanketed with snow following the rain.

Because of the snow, air services in several mountain districts including Dolpa, Mugu, Humla and Mustang were disrupted. Roads in high altitude places were also blocked, leaving hundreds of vehicles and passengers stranded. As temperature plummeted following the rain and snow, life has been deeply affected, especially in high altitude settlements .

Weather condition is gradually improving in some parts of the country since Saturday afternoon. The westerly wind is gradually weakening and the weather will improve throughout the nation from Sunday, said meteorologist Shanti Kandel at Meteorological Forecasting Division. “Currently, the weather is normal in the west and in the central part, while the eastern Tarai may witness light rain this evening.”

Hill areas surrounding the Valley, like Phulchoki, Nagarkot, Chandragiri and Shivapuri-Nagarjun witnessed snowfall after many years. Bimdhunga and Ramkot near the Nagarjun National Park and Shivapuri Hills among other places also witnessed snowfall on Saturday morning. Daman and Tistung, of Makwanpur, and Charikot and Kalinchok, of Dolakha, also witnessed heavy snowfall.

The western region witnessed heavy rain and snowfall as compared to the eastern region. Bhairahawa recorded the highest rainfaill, at 55 mm, followed by Simara 43 mm, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. Similarly, Pokhara received 35.2 mm rainfall followed by Kathmandu 28.2mm. Likewise, Dang received 14.6 mm rainfall, while Birendranagar, Jumla, Dadeldhura, Biratnagar and Dhankuta received 13.1 mm, 7.4 mm, 5 mm, 3.9 and 9.1 mm respectively until 5:45 on Saturday.

Post Photos: Angad Dhakal, Chandra Karki & Aash Gurung