Himachal may see snow ahead of New Year's Eve

The hills of Himachal Pradesh might experience rains and snowfall ahead of New Year's Eve, a weather official said here Saturday.

"There are chances of rainfall and snowfall at some places in the state Dec 30 to Dec 31," meteorological office director Manmohan Singh told IANS.

He said the western disturbances - storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - are likely to remain active till New Year's Eve.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kalpa, Dalhousie and Manali saw light to moderate spells of snowfall Dec 22.

The Met department's forecast has brought cheer to the state's hospitality industry and the hope that snow will attract more tourists on New Year's Eve.

The minimum temperature in Manali was 3.2 degrees below the freezing point, while it was minus 9.1 in Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district, the coldest place in the state.

It was 5.8 degrees above the freezing point in Dharamsala, minus 5.6 degrees in Kalpa, and 1.7 degree in Shimla.