Light to heavy rains lashed several parts of north India intensifying cold wave conditions in the region following snowfall in higher reaches that brought down day temperature considerably in Delhi and neighbourhood. Snowfall was recorded in the higher reaches of Uttarkhand and Jammu and Kashmir and some places in Himachal Pradesh while many places in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, UP and some places in Rajasthan were lashed by showers with MeT department predicting more snowfall in the higher reaches. "We have predicted heavy snowfall in parts of Uttarakhand and J&K. In HP, only few regions would experience snowfall, whereas in Uttarakhand, snowfall would be experienced in 1-2 regions," IMD Director B P Yadav said. The sky remained overcast as scattered rains and icy winds swept through Delhi keeping people indoors. The maximum temperature settled seven notches below normal at 16 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was recorded at 14.2 degree Celsius, six points above normal, Met department said. The city received 3.8 mm of rains during the day as high humidity persisted between 87 and 93 per cent. As overcast conditions coupled with shallow fog loomed throughout the day, the Met department predicted similar conditions for tomorrow and possibility of more rains during the night. Snowfall in the higher reaches and rains in low lying areas of Uttarakhand brought down temperatures in the state intensifying the cold conditions. In the Garhwal division, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Hemkund and Chakrata and in the Kumaon division Munsyari and Dharchula received snowfall, MeT department said. Some low lying areas including state capital Dehradun received sporadic rainfall. Despite severe cold, long queues of voters were seen outside the polling stations in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. Ending a prolonged dry spell, many parts of Punjab and Haryana received moderate to heavy rainfall for the second day today as minimum temperatures showed a significant rise although chilly winds forced people to remain indoors. The joint capital of the two states, Chandigarh received 74.3 mm rain until early on Sunday morning, while the minimum temperature recorded a rise by few notches to 10.6 degrees Celsius, a MeT Department official said. Other places in the two states to receive rains included Panchkula (50 mm), Kalka (40 mm), Ambala (39.8 mm), Ludhiana (23.5 mm), Madhopur (19.3 mm), Patiala (17.1 mm) Mohali, Phagwara and Jalandhar. In Haryana, minimum temperatures were recorded up to six notches above normal at various places including Ambala 11.7, Hisar 13.7, Karnal 13, Narnaul 10.5 and Bhiwani 13.6 degrees Celsius respectively. In Punjab, Amritsar's minimum settled at 8.6 degrees Celsius, followed by Ludhiana 10.4 and Patiala 11.9 degrees Celsius respectively, up to five notches above normal. Misty weather affected normal life in Rajasthan as the sun remained elusive for the second consecutive day today, a MeT report said. Jaisalmer and Mount Abu recorded the lowest temperatures of 6.4 and 6 degree Celsius respectively on Saturday night, the report said. Mercury plummeted at all places by one to six degrees Celsius as light rains occurred in parts of Hadaui region as Jhalawar recorded the most rainfall of 7 mm, the report said. Mist led to poor visibility up to 1,500 metres, a MeT official said, adding, the weather is not foggy. Udaipur recorded a minimum temperature of 6.8 degrees Celsius while Jalore, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Chittorgarh, Ganganagar, Pilani, Churu and Jaipur recorded minimum temperatures of 7.5, 7.6, 7.8, 8.4, 8.7, 9.5, 10.6, 11 degrees Celsius respectively. Light to moderate rain or thundershowers occurred at many places in Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours. According to the MeT department, 7 mm rainfall was recorded in Mahrauni, 6 mm in Lalitpur, 5 mm in Rath, 4 mm in Maharajgunj, 3 mm each in Garotha, Nakur, and Banda, 2 mm each in Bahraich, Kanpur, Fursatgunj, Hardoi, Fatehgarh, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Orai, Bindki, Mahoba, and Kalpi. The lowest minimum temperature was recorded in Shahjahanpur at 3 degrees Celsius.
