NEW DELHI: If you have stored away your woollens, it's time to pull them out. Get your umbrellas ready as well.

The National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF) has forecast a spell of rains over the next two to three days.

This will result in a fall in temperature: maximum temperature could go down by five to eight degrees and minimum temperature by two degrees.

Non-seasonal rainfall

According to NCMRWF officials, the non-seasonal rains would cover a large tract of North and Central India, beginning from Jammu and Kashmir and going on to Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, before ending in the North-East.

The extent of coverage is expected to be maximum on Thursday, with the disturbance extending from Haryana to Uttar Pradesh on the West-East direction and from Uttar Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in the North-South direction. On Friday, it is expected to move to Bihar and to the North-East on Saturday before petering out.

The rainfall, to be accompanied by thunder and short bursts of high-speed winds, is expected to be heavy, ranging from 5 to 8 cm, in some areas in Uttar Pradesh and north Madhya Pradesh and moderate, up to about 2 cm, in other areas.

There could also be snowfall in the higher reaches of the Himalayas.

Some parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh could also experience hail storms, the officials said.

Western disturbance

The wet spell is attributed to a large Western disturbance. "While formation of Western disturbances is common during this time of the year, what is significant about the current system is that it's very large and has mixed with the tropical weather.

The trough is very deep, stretching from 47 degrees North to 15 degrees North latitude," the officials said.

While such Western disturbances normally result only in some snow and rains in North India, this time around, the activity could be widespread, covering several Northern and Central parts of the country.

Threat to crops

The officials warned that the downpour could damage crops. Wheat production, which has already taken a beating due to the high temperatures in February, could face more troubled days, as the rainfall could cover the entire wheat belt.

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