Moderate snowfall in high-altitude areas in Himachal Pradesh

Moderate snowfall was recorded in high-altitude areas in Himachal Pradesh while the mid and higher hills of the state received scattered rains, causing a fall in minimum temperatures, officials said today.
Strong velocity ice winds swept the region and thick fog engulfed the towns along the river banks, reducing visibility and disrupting traffic.
The Rohtang Pass, gateway to the Lahaul Valley, Kunzam and Saach passes were closed due to snowfall and people were advised not to drive on slippery roads.
Tribal areas reeled under biting cold wave conditions as maximum temperatures hovered under freezing point and Keylong and Kalpa in tribal districts of Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur recorded a high of 0.6 degrees Celsius and 1.6 degrees Celsius while Manali shivered at 6.2 degrees Celsius, the local local MeT office said.

Bhuntar recorded a high of 13 degrees, four degrees below normal while Shimla, Dharamsala, Palampur and Solan recorded maximum temperatures at 15.2 degrees Celsius, 16.8 degrees Celsius, 17.5 degrees Celsius and 19.8 degrees Celsius, it said.
Gondola and Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district received 18 mm and 8 mm of snow, followed by Kalpa 7 cm, Kukumseri 4 cm and Kothi 3 cm, the local MeT office said.

The key tourist resort of Manali was wettest in the region with 26 mm rains, Bhuntar 10 mm, Kothi and Rekong Peo 5 mm, Bijahi 3 mm, Shimla 2 mm, Mandi, Solan and Sundernagar 1 mm.

The rainfall and snow broke the prolonged dry spell but farmers were not happy as the rains were too inadequate and not distributed uniformly, it said.
Keylong and Kalpa recorded minimum temperatures at minus 0.4 degrees and zero degrees while Manali recorded a low of 3.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Shimla 7.1 degrees Celsius, Solan 7.5 degrees Celsius, and Dharamsala 8.4 degrees Celsius, Palampur 9.0 degrees Celsius, Sundernagar 9.6 degrees Celsius and Sundernagar 9.8 degrees Celsius, it said.
The local MeT office has forecast rains, thundershowers and snowfall in mid and higher hills tomorrow and dry weather in the region from November 20 onwards.