New Year white-out makes Tsomgo out of bounds

GANGTOK, 02 Jan: All traffic to Tsomgo and beyond has been suspended for two days [starting today] with the upper reaches of East Sikkim covered in a fresh blanket of rather heavy snow. It began snowing in the area from 10th Mile on JN Road [to Nathula] and above with New Year’s day and continued through today. There had been intermittent snowfall in December as well, but this is the first continuing fall of the season, locals inform.

Due to the heavy snowfall, the tourist hot spot of Tsomgo is now out of bounds for tourists as well as other visitors as the thick snow poses a risk to driving which is made more dangerous by the heavy fog. In some stretches, visibility is near zero due to the fog. The army, it is informed, is engaged in clearing the snow from the roads. There was however hardly any traffic along the route today apart from the army vehicles.
Meanwhile, the noticeable drop in the mercury is being ascribed to the meteorological phenomenon of Western Disturbance which have brought the cloud cover over the region and sent down drizzles and snowfall.
The State Meteorological Centre here at Baluwakhani has recorded a maximum temperature [Day temperature] of 11.7 degree Celsius and minimum temperature [Night temperature] of 6.2 degree Celsius and 14.6 mm rainfall over Gangtok for 01 Jan.
Meteorological In-charge, GN Raha, informs that since yesterday, a westerly ‘trough’ has been passing through the region and adds that Cyclone Thane was also converging towards this trough, putting out the extensive cloud cover.
Mr Raha informs that light rainfall and snowfall will continue for another 24 hours and start petering out from Wednesday onwards. He further informed that the day temperatures are likely to fall substantially  in the interim just as fog is expected to thicken in some areas.
But before you start packing away the heavier woolens in anticipation of warmer days from Wednesday onwards, hear this- the Met In-charge informs that another Western Disturbance is also approaching the region.