Mercury down a touch with unseasonal rains in north; snowfall in Himachal

Large swathes of northern plains received unseasonal rains on Wednesday, while parts of Himachal Pradesh recorded heavy snowfall, bringing the temperatures down across the region.

The national capital and areas surrounding it received widespread intermittent rains, causing traffic snarls at multiple intersections. "The minimum temperature was recorded at 9.3 degrees Celsius," a MeT official said.

The Safdarjung observatory received 6 mm rainfall, Palam observatory recorded 5.3 mm while the the Ridge area received 6.8 mm rainfall. The rainfall recorded at Lodhi Road and Aya Nagar observatories was 10 mm and 5.6 mm respectively.

The weatherman has predicted heavy downpour throughout the day with possibility of hailstorm in isolated areas.

Most of the high and middle hills of Himachal Pradesh, including tourist hotspots Shimla, Manali, Kufri and Dalhousie, received fresh snowfall.

Even as the snowfall brought cheer among tourists, around 150 roads were blocked in the entire state. Keylong remained the coldest place at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.

According to the Meteorological Department, Shima received 20 cm snowfall between 5.30 pm on Tuesday and 8.30 am on Wednesday.

Dalhousie in Chamba district received 35 cm snowfall, followed by Manali in Kullu district (22 cm), Kalpa in Kinnaur district (16 cm) and Lahaul-Spiti's administrative centre Keylong (8 cm), the department said