The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued an "orange" alert, warning of heavy rain and snowfall in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh over the next two to three days due to an intense western disturbance.

This is the first intense western disturbance of the season and will influence northwest and central India till October 17, the IMD said.

Western disturbances are weather systems that originate in the Mediterranean region and bring unseasonal rainfall to northwest India.

Punjab may also experience heavy rainfall on Monday under the influence of the western disturbance. Thunderstorms and lightning are predicted in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, west Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan during this period.

A cyclonic circulation has developed over central Pakistan and neighbouring regions under the influence of the western disturbance. It is likely to intensify further with the possibility of merging with a fresh western disturbance on October 15, the IMD said.

This system is expected to receive moisture from the Arabian Sea, leading to an increase in rainfall intensity and distribution over northwest India during the same period.

Dry northwesterly winds from the Himalayas are likely to prevail over northwest India in lower tropospheric levels after the passage of the western disturbance. As a result, temperatures are likely to fall by 2 to 4 notches from October 17 over the region.

The IMD uses four colour codes for weather warnings -- green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.