<p>Amid freezing cold gripping the Nilgiris or the Blue Mountain, temperatures rapidly dropped to close to zero degrees Celsius on Friday, prompting the weathermen to issue a ''frost warning.'' <br /><br /></p>.<p>Large patches of grass lands in the Nilgiris district now appear like a white blanket, with frozen dew or what is popularly called white frost carpeting the green grass, sources told Deccan Herald from the district headquarters of Ooty on Friday night.<br /><br />Places in Ooty where this white frost blanket was observed included the famous botanical garden area, boat-house, Doddapetta and the hydro-electric dam areas including the upper Bhavani, the sources said.<br /> <br />“During the last 24 hours, minimum temperature in the Nilgiris district plunged to seven degrees Celsius at 8:30 am, with the departure from normal minimum being ‘minus two degree Celsius,” the Met office said. It became more chilling as the day progressed, the sources added.<br /><br />“This is not new to us. This snowfall-like scenario has hit the Nilgiris district earlier in the second week of November, though it usually occurs in December,” a resident of Ooty said over the phone. This could be due to the sudden shifts in the overall climatic pattern, he added.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the Met office, in its “frost-warning” notice said: “Ground frost may occur at a few places over the hill ranges of the Nilgiris district during the next two nights.”</p>
<p>Amid freezing cold gripping the Nilgiris or the Blue Mountain, temperatures rapidly dropped to close to zero degrees Celsius on Friday, prompting the weathermen to issue a ''frost warning.'' <br /><br /></p>.<p>Large patches of grass lands in the Nilgiris district now appear like a white blanket, with frozen dew or what is popularly called white frost carpeting the green grass, sources told Deccan Herald from the district headquarters of Ooty on Friday night.<br /><br />Places in Ooty where this white frost blanket was observed included the famous botanical garden area, boat-house, Doddapetta and the hydro-electric dam areas including the upper Bhavani, the sources said.<br /> <br />“During the last 24 hours, minimum temperature in the Nilgiris district plunged to seven degrees Celsius at 8:30 am, with the departure from normal minimum being ‘minus two degree Celsius,” the Met office said. It became more chilling as the day progressed, the sources added.<br /><br />“This is not new to us. This snowfall-like scenario has hit the Nilgiris district earlier in the second week of November, though it usually occurs in December,” a resident of Ooty said over the phone. This could be due to the sudden shifts in the overall climatic pattern, he added.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the Met office, in its “frost-warning” notice said: “Ground frost may occur at a few places over the hill ranges of the Nilgiris district during the next two nights.”</p>
