Record November rain and snow hit Lower Dir, Pakistan

Up to 108 mm (4.2 inches) of rain and more than 1 m (3 feet) of snow fell in Lower Dir District as upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, received the season's first snow over the weekend. The numbers were record totals for the month of November, according to local media SAMAA.

Rains started falling in various parts of the province on Friday, November 13, and continued into Monday, November 16. Lower Dir recorded 108 mm (4.2 inches) into Sunday, while more than 1 m (3 feet) of snow was registered in Kumrat and Kohistan– these were record totals for the month of November, according to SAMAA TV.

Many parts of Peshawar were affected by prolonged power outages during the rain, while rainwater accumulated on main roads.

In Swat, heavy snowfall was reported in mountainous areas of the district, including Malam Jabba, Madyan, Miandam, Bahrain, Kalam, Mankyal, Utror, Matiltan, Gabral, Gabin Jabba, Lalku, and Sulatanr. Due to the snow, many motorists were stranded on roads, while several roads were blocked.

'About 50 vehicles of tourists on Bahrain-Kalam road have been stranded besides over 30 visitors at Mahodand Lake because the road remained blocked due to heavy snowfall," said Kalam resident Nazir Ahmad.

"Heavy machinery has already been sent to clear the road at the Laikot area on Kalam Road,” Swat deputy commissioner Saqib Raza Aslam stated.

"We have started clearing snow from MNJ road to provide safe passage to tourists coming to and going out of Kaghan valley," KDA deputy director Mazhar Hussain Shah told the media.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, rain-thunderstorms with snowfall is forecast over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as Islamabad, Upper and Central Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Kashmir throughout the week.

Featured image credit: Faiz Tourist/YouTube