Shimla, March 19 The Met office on Thursday issued an orange alert for heavy rain, snow, thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds (speed 40-60 kmph) for areas in Mandi, Shimla, and Sirmaur for the next day.
The weather office predicted the spell of rain and snow in the state to last until March 25. Snow and rain were witnessed in parts of Himachal Pradesh on Thursday.
The tribal districts of Lahaul and Spiti witnessed snowfall, while the mid and low hills have experienced intermittent rain in the past 24 hours.
Since Wednesday evening, Gondla in Lahaul and Spiti district received 13 cm of snow, followed by Keylong, Kukumseri, Hansa, and Kalpa in Kinnaur, which received 12 mm, 11.4 cm, 10 cm, and 0.4 cm of snow, respectively.
Vehicles were restricted from entering beyond the Solang Valley due to the accumulation of snow.
People involved in tourism and related industries in Manali welcomed the sudden increase in hotel occupancy due to the interest in snow activities.
Gajender Thakur, president of the Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurant Association, said he expects hotel occupancy to double to 70 per cent over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Manali, with 57 mm of rain, recorded the highest rainfall in the state on Thursday, followed by Tissa (33 mm), Sarahan and Bhuntar (32.5 mm each), Seobagh (32.4 mm), Jot (27 mm), Kalpa (20 mm), Neri (19.5 mm), and Shimla (19.4 mm).
The Met office said that a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from March 22.
Kukumseri was the coldest, recording a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius, while Nahan was the warmest at 21.8 degrees Celsius.
