Squall, hail lash Shimla, Kufri; hit normal life

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 2

Normal life was disrupted as thunderstorm, accompanied by squall, lashed Shimla and its surrounding areas while Kufri was hit by hailstorm.

The Dhalli-Kufri highway was covered under white carpet of hail while a squall lashed the capital, reducing the visibility to zero, disrupting the traffic. It was dark at noon and vehicles had to move at a snail’s pace with headlights on.

Parts of Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una, Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur and Solan districts were also lashed by squall, causing a sharp fall in mercury and day temperatures dropped by four to six degrees. Hailstorm and rain damaged fruits and flowers in Nirmand and Anni in Kullu and upper Shimla areas. Una, which recorded the maximum temperature at 40.8 degree on Tuesday, registered a high of 35 degree while Bhuntar, Sundernagar , Nahan and Shimla recorded a high of 32 degree, 31.1 degree, 30.8 degree and 24.5 degree C. Kangra was the wettest with 46 mm rain, followed by Jawali 44 mm, Kalatop 33 mm, Dalhousie 32 mm, Bangana 16 mm, Dharamsala 14 mm, Sundernagar 13 mm and Kasauli 10 mm.

The local MeT office has warned of thunderstorm, squall and hailstorm at isolated places in mid and higher hills and another wet spell in the region for six days.\