Cold wave intensifies in Himachal

Rains, accompanied by icy winds, on Saturday lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh plummeting mercury as cold wave further intensified in the hill state.

Higher hills and mountain passes received intermittent snowfall as dense fog engulfed several places in the state disrupting vehicular traffic.  Vehicles moved at snail’s pace with head lights on even during the day with thick fog blanketing many areas reducing visibility to a few metres. Thunderstorms and hailstorms struck mid and lower hills dipping mercury which stayed below normal at several places.

Shimla shivered as the minimum touched 2.2 degree Celsius and the maximum 6.4 degrees, five notches below normal.

Scenic Manali reeled under piercing cold with mercury settling at freezing point while Keylong and Kalpa in tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts, which received 20 cms and 25 cms of snow, recorded a low of minus 3.6 degrees each.

Maximum temperartures which dipped by six to eight degrees on Friday further dropped by two to three degrees to stay at 14.8 degrees and 14.6 degrees in Dharamsala and Una respectively.

The Met office has predicted heavy snowfall in tribal areas and higher hills and thunderstorms in mid and lower hills on Sunday.

Snow back in Uttarakhand

Cold conditions returned to Uttarakhand on Saturday, with showers in the plains and heavy snowfall in the higher reaches, reports PTI from Dehradun. Munsyari in Pithoragarh district, Uttarkashi, Tehri and Dhanaulti near Mussoorie received heavy snowfall, while many places in the plains, including Dehradun and Haridwar, were lashed by rain coupled with strong gusts of wind, said the MeT office.

Haridwar received the maximum showers of 45 mm, followed by Tehri with 39.4 mm.
The MeT department has attributed the rain and snowfall to a western disturbance over North India. The weatherman said the temperature in the state capital is likely to hover around 15 degree Celsius, which is normal for this time of the season. However, a drop in the minimum temperature is expected by Monday when the weather is likely to clear up, the department said.