Fierce storms hit Amritsar, Shimla, Jammu; Heavy rain forecast for Himachal

Amritsar/Shimla/Jammu: Parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir were battered by heavy rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday night, leading to widespread disruption, property damage, and power outages across multiple districts. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast further unsettled weather in the coming days, particularly in Himachal Pradesh, due to an approaching strong Western Disturbance.

In Punjab, Amritsar and Mohali witnessed intense rainfall and gusty winds, with the IMD predicting a partly cloudy sky and intermittent rain or thundershowers for the region.

Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, also experienced similar weather conditions, with cloudy skies prevailing. The IMD issued a weather warning for areas between Dalhousie and Tikri Khas in Chamba district, where moderate to intense rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching speeds of 45–55 kmph were observed. The same system is expected to move toward Kangra district and gradually weaken.

Within the next few hours, thunderstorms with lightning and moderate rainfall are likely to persist in Una, Hamirpur, Mandi, and Kangra districts, while similar conditions are set to impact Bilaspur and Kullu shortly.

IMD Senior Scientist Shobhit Katiyar, based at the department’s Himachal Pradesh Centre in Shimla, confirmed that the weather would remain relatively calm for the next 48 hours. However, he cautioned that a very active Western Disturbance is set to impact Himachal Pradesh from the afternoon of 18 April through to the morning of 21 April, bringing widespread rain.

"Light rain may occur today in Chamba and Kangra, but the main spell will begin from April 18," Katiyar said. "There is a possibility of heavy rainfall in higher elevations of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, and Mandi districts on April 18 and 19, with some areas expected to receive between 6 to 12 cm of rainfall." An orange alert has been issued for these regions on those dates.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Udhampur districts in Jammu and Kashmir were also hit hard by the sudden storm. In Jammu city, intense winds caused part of the Civil Secretariat’s boundary wall to collapse, bringing down barbed wire and damaging several parked vehicles. A JCB machine was deployed to clear the debris and restore access.

In Udhampur, strong winds uprooted multiple trees, leading to blocked roads and power outages across several areas. Former Sarpanch of Sateni Panchayat, Parshottam Gupta, confirmed that his village had suffered widespread damage.

"I have inspected my Panchayat, and there were several trees uprooted. The traffic and electricity have been affected in the area... After 4-5 years, such strong winds have affected the area," Gupta said, adding that a full assessment would be carried out by Thursday morning.

Disaster response teams are currently working to restore essential services, ensure road clearance, and assess the full extent of the damage across all affected regions.