Shimla, Mar 16 (PTI) The higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh received a fresh spell of snow on Monday morning, even as the police in Manali continued their operation to move stranded vehicles from the Atal Tunnel towards the popular hill station.
More than 1,000 vehicles were stranded near the south portal of the Atal Tunnel near Rohtang in Kullu district on Sunday night due to slippery road conditions following snowfall, forcing the authorities to bar vehicles from going beyond the Solang Nallah, officials said.
The Dhauladhar range in Kangra district was covered under a thin blanket of snow on Monday morning, while the higher reaches of Shimla district received 10.2 cm of snow in the past 24 hours, followed by Kalpa at 6.4 cm, Kinnaur at 6 cm and Lahaul-Spiti at 2 cm, Shobhit Katariya, a weather official in the local Met office in Shimla, said.
Salooni in Chamba district was the wettest place in the state, receiving 32 mm of rain in the past 24 hours, followed by Sarahan (Shimla) 29.5 mm, Bhaba Nagar (Kinnaur) 29 mm, Rampur (Shimla) 28 mm, Kataula (Mandi) 23.4 mm, Bhattiyat (Chamba) 23.1 mm, Manali 22 mm, Bharmour (Chamba) 20.5 mm, Pandoh (Mandi) 20.4 mm, Gohar (Mandi) 20 mm, Bhuntar (Kullu) 19.2 mm, Jot (Chamba) 17.4 mm, Mandi 14.6 mm, Berthin (Bilaspur) 14.2 mm, Shimla 12.2 mm, Pachhad (Sirmaur) 12 mm and Shilaroo (Shimla) 10 mm, the official said.
Moderate fog was seen in Sundernagar, Shimla witnessed a hailstorm, while thunderstorm and lightning lashed Kufri and Jubberhatti near Shimla, Kangra, Sundernagar, Jot and Murari Devi in Mandi district.
The Met department has issued a yellow warning for hailstorms at isolated places on Wednesday and Thursday, and thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds with a speed ranging between 40-60 kmph till Friday.
Following snow and rain in the higher reaches, the minimum temperature dropped by 5-7 degrees at many places, with Tabo in Lahaul-SPiti recording the coldest night temperature at minus 2.5 degrees Celsius.
From March 1 to March 16, Himachal received 15.9 mm of rain, compared to the normal of 60.7 mm for this time of the year, a deficit of 74 per cent.
Rain in March is considered good for the Rabi crop, according to officials in the agriculture department. PTI BPL ARI
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