A sudden spell of off-season snowfall has swept across parts of the western Himalayas, affecting regions in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir and disrupting travel in several popular hill destinations.

The abrupt weather shift was most visible in Himachal Pradesh’s M****i area, where heavy snowfall near the Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, left nearly 1,000 vehicles stranded and forced authorities to launch a rescue operation.

Officials said snow accumulated rapidly near the tunnel’s south portal, making roads extremely slippery and bringing traffic to a halt. Teams from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Himachal Pradesh Police began clearing snow and guiding stranded vehicles to safer locations.

According to local authorities, weather conditions in M****i remained normal until late Saturday night, prompting many tourists to travel toward higher areas such as Lahaul Valley and the Atal Tunnel. Conditions c****ed quickly as snowfall began in high-altitude stretches.

By the next morning, snowfall intensified across the tunnel approach roads and nearby mountain passes. Within hours, traffic congestion built up as hundreds of vehicles struggled to move along snow-covered roads, leaving many tourists stranded.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has linked the weather event to a fresh western disturbance.

Western disturbances are mid-latitude low-pressure systems that originate over the Mediterranean region. They travel eastward along strong westerly winds and bring winter precipitation to parts of South Asia, particularly northern India and the Himalayan belt.

When a western disturbance reaches the Himalayas, it interacts with cold air over the mountains. This leads to cloud formation and precipitation. As a result, higher altitudes receive snowfall while nearby plains often experience rain.