Shimla, March 29 The higher reaches of the Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti districts in Himachal Pradesh received fresh snowfall on Sunday, while the middle and lower areas experienced intermittent rainfall.
The Shimla Meteorological Office issued an orange alert for hailstorms, thunderstorms with lightning and strong winds (speed 40-60 kmph) in isolated areas of Mandi, Kullu, and Shimla districts on Monday and predicted continued rainfall across the state until April 4.
Keylong received 1 cm of snowfall, and Gondla also received traces of it. Snowfall was also observed at the southern entrance of the Atal Tunnel near Manali, with numerous videos of tourists enjoying the snow widely circulating online.
Small vehicles and two-wheelers are not allowed beyond the Solang barrier in Manali due to the snowfall, and the local administration has urged people to avoid traveling to higher areas unless necessary and to use 4x4 vehicles for safety.
Kangra, with 18.5 mm of rainfall, was the wettest area in the state, followed by Solan (18.4 mm), Manali and Jot (15 mm each), Dharamshala (9.3 mm), Bharmaur (8.7 mm), Bhattiyat and Ghamroor (8.4 mm each), Bhuntar (8.2 mm), Kalpa (5.4 mm), Guler (5.2 mm), Nagrota Suriyan (4.8 mm), Aghar (4.6 mm), and Shimla and Joggindernagar (4 mm each).
Thunderstorms and lightning were observed in Kangra and Jot, while strong winds ranging from 37-39 km per hour lashed Tabo and Seobagh. The weather office also added that a new Western Disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from April 2.
Tabo experienced the lowest temperature at night, at 3.1 degrees Celsius. There was also a noticeable drop in maximum temperatures, with Una being the hottest during the day at 28.6 degrees Celsius.
So far this month, Himachal Pradesh has received 87.4 mm of rain, which is 20 percent less than the normal 108.8 mm.