Rain, hailstorm lash upper areas of Himachal Pradesh

Shimla, April 26

Light to moderate rain accompanied by a thunderstorm and a hailstorm occurred in upper areas of Shimla, Sirmaur, Kullu, Kangra, Chamba, Mandi and Hamirpur districts today. In Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, light rain accompanied by a thunderstorm was reported in the afternoon.

A spell of hailstones was reported at several places in the apple growing areas of Shimla district. “We had a spell of hailstones at Kotkhai today. Orchards without anti-hail nets suffered some damage,” said Rajinder Chauhan, an orchardist. “At some places, anti-hail nets were torn,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Weather Department issued a yellow alert of light to moderate rainfall at a few places across the state for the next few days. Also, an alert of a thunderstorm, lightning and a hailstorm at isolated places was issued.

Average maximum temperatures continued to remain below normal by 2.8°C. As many as 27 roads and seven power transformers were affected by the precipitation while 50 water supply schemes, including 49 in Lahaul and Spiti, were also hit.