Shimla, January 20
The weather god finally obliged the “Queen of Hills” with a snowfall this morning.

Residents were thrilled to see the town and the surrounding hill ranges donning an impeccable white mantle. The moderate snowfall extended to the lower hills. It was preceded by a severe storm which hit the region around midnight. The tribal belt and higher reaches of Shimla and Sirmaur districts were lashed by a blizzard.

While the town received 10 to 15 cm of snow, the adjoining tourist resorts of Kufri, Fagu and Mashobra recorded 20 to 25 cm of snow. Narkanda, Kharapathar and the surrounding areas in upper Shimla were having heavy snow since last night. The entire region has been covered with a thick blanket of snow. The 11,000 ft — Hatoo peak, overlooking Narkanda, had received 40 cm of snow till this afternoon.

The famous tourist resorts of Manali, Dalhousie, McLeodganj in Dharamsala and Khajiar in Chamba also had moderate snow. The ski slopes of Solang Nullah and Mari, near Rohtang, were under knee-deep snow.

Widespread snow and rain threw normal life out of gear in most parts of the state as snow blocked major highways, dislocating normal traffic.

The entire Kinnaur district and upper areas of Shimla district were out of bounds due to the snow and people had to go without newspapers, milk and vegetables in the morning.

While the traffic to Rampur was diverted via Dhami and Basantpur, normal bus services operated to Dharamsala, Mandi, Bilaspur, Solan and Chandigarh. The snowfall accompanied by high-velocity icy winds snapped power transmission lines at some places and also disrupted the telecom services.

The tribal areas groaned under piercing cold-wave conditions as mercury plunged to minus 18° C in Keylong while higher-altitude areas in the twin tribal valleys of Lahaul and Spiti reeled under avalanche threat.

Hundreds of tourists and local people braved biting cold-wave conditions to experience the thrill of snowflakes. Children were seen making snowman and throwing snowballs at each others.

The belated snow and rain brought cheers to farmers, especially the apple growers, whose crops had been affected by the prolonged dry spell.

A report from Kumarhatti said the town and the surrounding area of Dagshai experienced the first snowfall of the season on Sunday afternoon. The mild snowfall was accompanied by sleet.

The area received snowfall after a gap of three years.