Rain lashes HP, yellow alert issued for thunderstorms for March 30 & 31

The minimum temperature in the state dipped to minus 3 degrees Celsius in Keylong after it received more than 15 mm of snowfall. Shimla received 15 mm of rainfall accompanied by stormy winds and thunderstorms. The highest temperature was recorded in Hamirpur which was around 28 degrees Celsius.

Himachal Traffic Police is closely monitoring the situation at Atal Tunnel which received continuous snowfall from Saturday night to Sunday morning. Both ends of the Rohtang Atal Tunnel have been shut down for tourist movement. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials are clearing the snow from main national highways in the Kullu region to resume vehicular traffic.

In the past 24 hours, four people were killed in road accidents. There have been 88 casualties in the pre-monsoon season between March 1 and March 26, out of which 76 have been attributed to accidents, as per state disaster management. A 24-year-old man was killed in Solan after his two-wheeler skidded and he was caught in the wheels of a moving bus.

The dip in temperature is a departure from the usual warm weather in March and it is primarily due to the movement of western disturbances.

“For the next two days, there is likely to be less rainfall but we are expecting disturbances again from Tuesday. There has been snowfall in the upper regions of Himachal which is causing low temperatures. We are expecting the warm season to resume from April onwards,” said Surendra Paul, Director Met Centre, Shimla.

As per the meteorological department, a yellow alert for thunderstorms, hailstorms, and rainfall has been issued for Thursday and Friday. The district administration and the state disaster management officials have cautioned tourists travelling towards higher altitudes against snowfall and slippery roads.

The change in weather has taken the local residents by surprise. During a ceremony last week, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had commented on the impact of climate change stating that March would be “warm” relatively early this time as opposed to prevailing present cold conditions.

“By mid-March there would be ample sunlight. In fact, the rain would precede the heat and is beneficial for apple farming. This time the entire cycle seems reversed. It is hard to predict the weather at the moment. We have to take each day as it comes,” said Sanjay Thakur, a resident of Shimla. On Saturday, Gondla and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district received 8.5 cm and 2.6 cm of fresh snow, respectively, while Dalhousie was wettest in the region with 81 mm rain, followed by Naina Devi 32.4 mm, Ghamroor 32.0 mm, Kangra 18.6 mm, Chamba 17 mm, Una 13.4 mm, Chamba 17 mm, Sundernagar 10.9 mm and Shimla 8 mm.

Strong icy winds had lashed the region and sky remained heavily overcast, causing sharp fall in minimum temperatures which stood two to four notches below normal. The inclement weather had disrupted the functioning of 322 power transformers as well.