Srinagar/Dehradun/Shimla, Feb 4: Snowfall in the higher reaches and rains in the plains today led to a drop in temperature at most places across Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir with the minimum in Dehradun plunging by four degrees.
Most of the places in Uttarakhand were lashed by moderate to heavy rains including Dehradun (1.2 mm), Mussoorie (4.0mm), Haridwar (1.2mm) and Roorkee (2.0mm), the MeT office here said.
Joshimath received the maximum of 33 mm of rains followed by Chamoli which recorded 21mm of rains, it said.
Heavy snowfall at places located above 3000 metres including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri and rains in the plains brought the day temperature down at most places.
Dehradun recorded a minimum of 13.9 degrees Celsius, down from yesterday's 18.4 degrees C, while Mukteshwar recorded a minimum of 4.2 degrees C as against yesterday's minimum of 11.4 degrees C.
Similar weather conditions are predicted in Uttarakhand over the next 24 hours with moderate to rather heavy rains in the plains and snowfall at high altitudes, the MeT said.
Vehicular traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended today due to heavy snowfall and rains.
The national highway was blocked for the traffic since yesterday afternoon.
The traffic remained suspended due to heavy snowfall in the Pir Panjal range, traffic authorities said today. “Traffic remains blocked due to heavy snowfall in the Pir Panjal range,” a traffic official said.
Heavy snowfall was witnessed at Patnitop and Jawhar Tunnel in Banihal area leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded on the national highway. There were also land slides in Ramban area.
Border and Roads Organisation (BRO) along with other agencies were working to resume the traffic on the national highway, he said.
Shimla(IANS): Several parts of Himachal Pradesh Monday received snow, including the resort town of Manali that was wrapped in a picturesque blanket of white, while Shimla saw rain.
The minimum temperature recorded at Manali that saw 14 cm of snow was one degree Celsius below freezing point, the weather office here said.
Kalpa, some 250 km from Shimla, has experienced 22 cm snow.
"High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu, Kinnaur, Sirmaur, Chamba, Mandi and Shimla districts have been experiencing snow since early Monday morning," an official said.
It was minus three degrees in Kalpa, while it was 5.2 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala and 3.6 degrees Celsius in Shimla, which saw 11.8 mm of rain till 8 a.m.
As news of the snowfall flashed across the plains, tourists started arriving at Manali and nearby hills.
The weather office said certain areas in Shimla, Kinnaur, Chamba, Kullu, Kangra and Lahaul and Spiti are likely to experience heavy snow and rain till Feb 6.
The government has warned tourists not to venture into the high hills as chances of road cave-ins and landslides are high.
Chandigarh: Light to moderate rains lashed most parts of Punjab and Haryana though minimum temperature rose sharply by up to eight notches above normal in both the states.
Chandigarh recorded a minimum of 13.7 deg C, up by seven notches above normal. The city also witnessed rainfall of 3.8 mm, the MeT office said here today.
In Haryana, Ambala, Karnal and Narnaul settled at 14.2 deg C, 14 deg C and 8.8 deg C respectively, while Hisar had a low of 14.6 deg, up by 8 degrees above normal.
With rainfall of 4.6 mm, Bhiwani had a minimum of 10.4 degC.
In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a minimum of 8 deg C with rainfall of 11.4 mm. Ludhiana and Patiala had a low of 13 deg C and 14.2 deg C, up by six and seven notches above normal respectively.
Among other places, rains also lashed Madhopur at 20.4 mm, Ranjit Sagar dam at 9.6 mm, Nangal at 11.2 mm and Shahpur Kandi area at 18.2 mm.
The MeT in its forecast said light to moderate rain may continue in next 48 hours, while hailstorm or thunderstorm may occur at isolated places in Punjab and Haryana.
