Cold grips Himachal after snowfall

Shimla, Nov 24 (IANS) A wave of cold weather gripped Himachal Pradesh Saturday as the higher reaches experienced snowfall again. Shimla recorded a minimum of 4.1 degrees Celsius whikle in some areas temperatures slipped to below freezing point.

The weather office here forecast sunny days across the state from Sunday.

“The high hills in Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu and Chamba districts have experienced light to moderate snowfall,” an official of the meteorological office here told IANS.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest in the state with the minimum temperature going down to minus 3.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below average for this time of the season.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 2 degrees Celsius while it was 0.6 degree Celsius in Manali and 9.2 degrees Celsius at Dharamsala.

Rohtang Pass (13,050 feet) and the Baralacha Pass (16,020 feet) on the Manali−Leh highway also experienced snowfall.

“A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region from Nov 28,” the weather office added.

IANS 2012-11-24 19:08:05