Gorkha Creed

Ghoom-Jorebungalow snowfall : A second time in the season Darjeeling town has narrowly missed a date with snow. Tuesday saw an hour of snowfall in Jorebungalow. Tourists flocked to the otherwise nondescript area, 8kms away from Darjeeling, to get a glimpse of the fall. This is the first snowfall of the season in Ghoom-Jorebungalow.

Around 2pm, the clouds gathered and the air became nippier. A slight drizzle added to the apprehension of snowfall. However, Darjeeling town remained clear. The last time Darjeeling town received snowfall was in 2006.

Tiger Hill on the upper ridges of Jorebungalow which receives heavy dose of snowfall

was almost clear with only white flakes having accumulated on the road and pine trees. It had snowed in Tiger Hill on January 1.

Despite the strong winds, excited tourists rushed to Jorebungalow and Tiger Hill.

“It feels like Switzerland I have never before experienced snowfall,” said Shraddha Sen, a tourist from Kolkata., from Bhowanipur in Kolkata. Another tourist Alica Gonzalves from Mumbai said she would extend her stay for a couple days.

“The snowfall this time is light compared to previous occasions. But it feels nice to play on a white blanket of snow. I hope there are more snow showers,” said Pasang Lhamu, surfing on the snow slope and throwing snowballs at friends.

Initially, the snow shower was intense but strong winds drove away the cloud cover. Snow flakes poured in the town that made people on the streets shout out to each other in joy. ‘ayo, ayo, abo parcha’ (its come, its come now it will snow). But the excitement didn’t last long as the sky soon became clear and bright sunshine peeped through the clouds. “It could have snowed but for the wind. If conditions remain chilly and there is enough cloud cover we might have snowfall by tonight,” said Rupendra Pradhan at Chowrasta.

The minimum temperature continued to hover around the 2-3 degree Celsius mark with freezing conditions at night.

“Weather condition is changing daily and it is difficult to predict when it would snow heavily. The western disturbances have not brought enough moisture to favour snowfall,” said the weatherman at the North Bengal University (NBU) in Siliguri.

From: timesofindia

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