Snow and rain forecast in Himachal before Holi

Moderate snowfall and thundershowers may occur in Himachal Pradesh for the next two days that will bring down the mercury before the Holi festival, the Met Office here said on Tuesday.

High hills of Kullu, Chamba, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts are likely to experience moderate snowfall over the next 48 hours till Thursday, an official of the meteorological office here told IANS.

He said the Western Disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region which cause rain and snowfall in the Indian subcontinent's northwest -- are likely to remain active in the region till March 9.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kalpa, Dalhousie and Manali are likely to have thundershowers, he added.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state with a low of 5.7 degrees Celsius below the freezing point.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district was fractionally below the freezing point at 0.6 degree, while Shimla recorded the minimum temperature at 6.7 degrees Celsius, Manali 2.2 degrees, and Dharamsala 10.2 degrees.

The state capital, which saw cloudy skies throughout the day, recorded the highest temperature at 13.4 degrees Celsius.

--IANS

vg/sm/vt