Squall, hail plunge city into darkness

Strap: Farmers fear damage to apple, stone fruit & veggie crops

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 3

Shimla and its surrounding areas were lashed by severe hailstorm and squall this afternoon, bringing life to a standstill.

It was darkness at noon as squall and hailstorm forced residents to rush indoors and even vehicular movement came to a halt due to zero visibility.

Roads and the roofs of houses were covered with hail while fruit growers were a worried lot as hailstorm during this time is considered disastrous for apple, stone fruit and vegetable crops.

Several parts of the state were lashed by moderate to heavy rain in the past 24 hours. Nahan was the wettest with 42 mm while Shimla and Aghar recorded 37 mm, followed by Mandi (26 mm), Jubbar Hatti (20 mm), Rajgarh (18 mm), Baldwara (16 mm), Kasauli (15 mm), Bhuntar (14 mm), Dharampur and Pandoh (13 mm), Kufri (11 mm), Kahu (10 mm), Solan and Jogindernagar (8 mm) and Bharmaur and Bilaspur (5 mm).

The local MeT office has issued yellow warning of thundershowers with lightning and gusty winds with speed 40 to 50 kmph at isolated in mid and lower hills on June 5 and 6 and predicted rain and thunderstorm in lower and mid hills and rain or snow in higher hills from June 4 to 9, barring June 8.

There was no significant change in the minimum temperatures, which fluctuated marginally, and Keylong recorded a low of 8.0 degree.

The maximum day temperatures stayed four to seven degree below normal and Una was the hottest during the day with a high of 35.6 degree.