Fresh snowfall, widespread rains in Himachal

High altitude tribal areas in Himachal Pradesh experienced moderate to heavy snowfall for the fifth day on Saturday, while some mid and lower areas were lashed by widespread rains, causing a sharp fall in mercury.

However, most parts of the state had a dry day on Saturday and bright sunshine greeted people, providing them with relief from inclement weather conditions.

Sangla received 20.5 cm of snow, followed by Kalpa 18.2 cm, Keylong 10.0 cm, Hansa 7.5 cm, Gondla 4 cm and Kukumseri 2.1cm since Friday evening.

Kandaghat was the wettest with 50 mm rain, followed by Jatton Barrage, Manali, Shimla, Gohar and Berthin, which received more than 40 mm of rain.

The local MeT station has issued a 'yellow' warning of thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and gusty winds with a speed of 30-40 kmph at isolated places in Kangra, Mandi and Kullu districts on March 23.

The MeT station also predicted light rain or snow at isolated places of the state on March 21, 22, 24 and 27 and light rain and snow at a few places on March 23 and 26 and dry weather during the rest of the days.

Minimum temperatures dropped by a few notches and Kukumseri was the coldest with a low of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius.