Slight rise in mercury in Himachal but snow in store

The hills of Himachal Pradesh Tuesday saw a slight rise in the temperatures due to prevailing dry weather, but the Met Office forecast rain and more snowfall next week.

"There are chances of more rainfall and snowfall in the state from Jan 8 to 9," a meteorological office statement said.

It said the western disturbances - storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - would start in the region from Jan 7.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali and Dalhousie, located in mid-hills, may witness snowfall, it added.

Picturesque tourist resort Manali, some 250 km from Shimla, had experienced snow Dec 31.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state Saturday with a low of minus 9.7 degrees.

Shimla recorded the minimum temperature at 4.1, while it was minus 3.6 degrees Kalpa in Kinnaur district, minus 1.8 degrees in Manali and 5.4 degrees at Dharamsala, where Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, lives.