Shimla, Manali get first snowfall of season

Tourist resorts of Shimla, Manali and Chail experienced first snowfall of the season while lower areas of Himachal Pradesh were drenched by widespread heavy rains.
A white Sunday greeted Shimlaites, with the entire town and its suburbs covered under a thin blanket of snow.Residents braved biting cold wave conditions to enjoy the snow even as high velocity icy winds swept the region.
Shimla received snow in the third week of December after a gap of 21 years. It usually receives snow towards end of December or in January. The resort town received 10 cm of snow and recorded minimum temperature at 0.2 degrees Celsius.

Vehicular traffic was disrupted in the morning in upper Shimla area and scores of vehicles were stranded between Dhalli and Narkanda.
Kinnaur and Rampur-bound buses were diverted via Basantpur-Kingal highway while Manali-Leh national highway was closed beyond Manali.
The high-altitude tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Pangi and Bharmaur and adjoining valley areas reeled under biting cold wave conditions as mercury dipped and stayed between -8 degrees Celsius and -16 degrees Celsius after intermittent snowfall.

The sprawling Dhauladhar ranges, donning a mantle of snow, presented a dazzling view while Kangra valley and other lower hills received widespread heavy rains.

Kangra was wettest in the region with 55 mm of rains till this afternoon while Dharamsala and Chamba recored 45 mm and 40 mm of rains respectively, followed by Nahan - 25 mm, Sundernagar - 20 mm, Bilaspur and Solan - 15 mm each, Bhuntar - 14 mm and Hamirpur - 12 mm.
The rains and snow provided some relief from fog to people in towns along river banks in lower hills as minimum temperature rose marginally.