Rains, hailstorm lash Shimla, snowfall in high altitude areas

High altitude areas in the state today received fresh snowfall, while Shimla and its surrounding resorts of Kufri and Fagu were lashed by squall, followed by intermittent rain and hailstorm, which led to a fall in minimum temperatures.
Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district received 5 cm of snow while the high altitude passes of Rohtang and Kunam saw 20 cm and 25 cm respectively of fresh snowfall.
Chansel and Saachpass and Churdhar range in Sirmaur also received moderate snowfall while several areas in mid and lower hill areas saw moderate to heavy rains.
Overcast and foggy conditions prevailed in Shimla due to which visibility dropped to a few metres.

Bilaspur was wettest in the region with 22 mm rains while Manali received 20 mm rains, followed by 14 mm in Bhunatar, 13 mm in Dalhousie, 12 mm in Kufri and Banjar,11 mm in Shimla, 10 mm in Gaggal, 9 mm in Seobagh, 8 mm in Una, 7 mm in Dharmshala, 6 mm in Kasauli, Jubbar Hatti andNaina Devi, and 5 mmin Paonta Sahiband Nahan.
Minimum temperatures dropped by few notches across the state with Keylong recording the lowest temperature of 0.6 degrees Celsius, followed by 1.2 degrees Celsius in Kalpa, and 1.8 degrees in Manali.
The MeT office has predicted squall or thundershowers at some places tomorrow and rains an snow at isolated places in mid and higher hills over next two days.