Rains, cold wave, thunderstorms and hailstorm-weather unusual for this part of the year, was there all over the region forcing the people to remain indoors and severely affecting normal life in the hills.
While Shimla and the hill stations of Himachal received heavy snowfall, there was widespread rains and hailstorm in Chandigarh, the joint Capital of Punjab and Haryana. Met office said heavy rains (18.9 mm) lashed Chandigarh until early Saturday morning with minimum temperature settling at 10.4°C. There was more rain in the evening and it was followed by hailstorm, leaving several streets white. In Shimla, the snowfall brought down the minimum temperature to minus 0.3°C, the season’s lowest. According to the Met Office, certain areas of Shimla like the Mall Road, the Ridge, the US Club and Jakhu Hills got more than a foot of snow.
Other picturesque tourist resorts Chail and Kasauli in Solan district and Dalhousie in Chamba district have been experiencing snow. “High altitude areas of lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur, Sirmaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy snow for the past two days,” a Met official said.