Rain, snowfall intensify cold in Uttarakhand

After snowfall and rain, mercury dipped in Uttarakhand and many areas in the state were swept by icy winds.

The state had a White Christmas on Sunday and four Himalayan shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath received the season's first snowfall, even as the plains including Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and adjoining areas were lashed by light drizzle.

It was a sunny day in many areas including Dehradun but by the evening, temperature again dipped and icy winds compelled people to remain indoors.

On the higher reaches, mercury dropped by six notches while it came down by three degrees Celsius in the plains.

The Meteorological department has predicted that there may be light snowfall in higher reaches and ground frost will occur in some hilly parts but weather will remain dry in most parts of the state.