Temperatures soar in north, hailstorm lashes Shimla

Mercury maintained its upward trend in large swathes of north India including Delhi today even as hailstorm lashed Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh and intermittent rains continued in Kashmir Valley.
In the national capital, it was a sunny day with the minimum temperature settling three notches above the season's average at 14.4 degrees Celsius.
The maximum stood at 28.9 degrees, five notches above normal and over a degree more than yesterday's 27.6 degrees Celsius. Humidity in the air oscillated between 50 and 96 per cent, according to the MeT department.
Night temperatures also continued to hover above normal levels across Punjab and Haryana, including their joint capital Chandigarh, where the minimum settled at five notches above normal at 14.4 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, Ambala had a low of 14.1 degrees, five points above normal. Hisar's minimum settled two notches above normal at 11.8 degrees. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded its low three notches above normal at 10.3 degrees. Patiala registered a minimum of 13.7 degrees. The MeT office predicted light to moderate rains at isolated places in the two states.
Meanwhile, intermittent rains continued in Kashmir for the third day today with weatherman warning of a fresh western disturbance from tomorrow which could result in more rains and snow till February 24.

"A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the state from tomorrow. Light to moderate rains or snowfall would occur at most places especially from February 21 to 24," a MeT department spokesman said in Srinagar.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, had 0.4 mm of rainfall in the night but it increased during the day. The city recorded a low of 5.4 degrees Celsius, up by 1.5 degrees from the previous night.
Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir, recorded 5.2 mm of rainfall and the minimum temperature there settled at minus 1.8 degrees, down from minus 1.2 degrees yesterday.
Gulmarg was the only recorded place in the Valley where the night temperature stayed below the freezing point.
Leh, the frontier town in Ladakh region, recorded a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius compared to minus 2.9 degrees the previous night. Kargil town registered a minimum of minus 7.2 degrees Celsius as against minus 8.0 degrees yesterday.