Shimla, March 16 The higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh received fresh snowfall on Monday morning, while the police in Manali continued their operation to move stranded vehicles from the Atal Tunnel towards the popular hill station.
Over 1,000 vehicles were stranded near the south portal of the Atal Tunnel near Rohtang in the Kullu district on Sunday night due to slippery road conditions following snowfall, forcing authorities to restrict vehicles from going beyond the Solang Nallah, officials said.
The Dhauladhar range in the Kangra district was covered under a thin layer of snow on Monday morning, while the higher reaches of the Shimla district received 10.2 cm of snow in the past 24 hours, followed by Kalpa at 6.4 cm, Kinnaur at 6 cm, and Lahaul-Spiti at 2 cm, said Shobhit Katariya, a weather official at the local Met office in Shimla.
Salooni in the Chamba district was the wettest place in the state, receiving 32 mm of rain in the past 24 hours, followed by Sarahan (Shimla) at 29.5 mm, Bhaba Nagar (Kinnaur) at 29 mm, Rampur (Shimla) at 28 mm, Kataula (Mandi) at 23.4 mm, Bhattiyat (Chamba) at 23.1 mm, Manali at 22 mm, Bharmour (Chamba) at 20.5 mm, Pandoh (Mandi) at 20.4 mm, Gohar (Mandi) at 20 mm, Bhuntar (Kullu) at 19.2 mm, Jot (Chamba) at 17.4 mm, Mandi at 14.6 mm, Berthin (Bilaspur) at 14.2 mm, Shimla at 12.2 mm, Pachhad (Sirmaur) at 12 mm, and Shilaroo (Shimla) at 10 mm, the official said.
Moderate fog was seen in Sundernagar, while Shimla experienced a hailstorm, and thunderstorms and lightning lashed Kufri and Jubberhatti near Shimla, along with Kangra, Sundernagar, Jot, and Murari Devi in the Mandi district.
The Met department has issued a yellow warning for hailstorms at isolated locations on Wednesday and Thursday, and thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds with speeds ranging from 40-60 kmph until Friday.
Following the snowfall and rain in the higher reaches, the minimum temperature dropped by 5-7 degrees at many places, with Tabo in Lahaul-Spiti recording the coldest night temperature at minus 2.5 degrees Celsius.
From March 1 to March 16, Himachal Pradesh received 15.9 mm of rain, compared to the normal of 60.7 mm for this time of the year, representing a deficit of 74 per cent.
Rain in March is considered beneficial for the Rabi crop, according to officials in the agriculture department.
