HP in the grip of cold wave

The hills and valleys of Himachal Pradesh reeled under biting cold wave conditions even as the weather cleared in the lower hills and rains and snow abated in mid and higher hills.
The high-altitude tribal areas, mountain passes and tourist resorts of Shimla, Manali, Dalhousie, Narkanda, Sarahan and Sangla valley had received moderate snow while mid and lower hills were lashed by rains during the past 24 hours.
Manali recorded 12 cm of fresh snow while Shimla received 6 cms snowfall. Dalhousie and Narkanda had 5 cm and 8 cm of snow respectively till early this morning.
Bharmaur received 10 cm snowfall, while Mashobra had 8 cm of snow.

The minimum temperature stayed at -2 degrees Celsius in Manali, while Dalhousie recorded a low of -0.5 degrees Celsius and Shimla had a night temperature of 1.6 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal.
Bhuntar recorded minimum temperature at 1.9 degrees Celsius, followed by Solan - 2.5 degrees, Sundernagar - 2.9 degrees, Nahan - 4.0 degrees, Palampur - 4.5 degrees, Una - 5.8 degrees and Dharamsala - 6.2 degree Celsius.

Chamba was wettest in the region with 48 mm rains while Karsog had 22 mm, Bhoranj - 20 mm rains, Arki - 18 mm, Dharamshala - 13 mm, Arki - 18 mm, Seobagh and Sunnibajji - 9 mm each, Jubbal - 8 mm, Kasauli - 7 mm and, Banjar and Bhuntar - 6 mm each.

The Manali-Leh national highway was opened up to Solang Nallah and tourists were seen making a bee-line to enjoy the snow at Solang while the highway was closed beyond Mari, 10 km from Rohtang Pass.
However, Rohtang Pass was closed and vehicular traffic has been suspended on Manali-Leh road beyond Solang.
The valleys and lower hills had some respite from cold as sun shone over large tract of lands and day temperatures rose marginally.
People in Shimla region, however, had no relief from the cold as the sky remained partially overcast and strong icy winds continued to lash the resort town and adjoining areas.