Saturday, January 15, 2011

Snowfall in Shimla raises tourists' ecstacy

SHIMLA/MANALI: A thick blanket of mist enveloped the queen of hills on Saturday and rainfall with thunderstorm and intermittent sleet showers lashed the city in the morning. By afternoon snowfall had started in Shimla. While heavy snowfall in Manali and surroundings kept the tourists and locals indoors, tourists at Dharamsala too were elated as the town received snowfall after a gap of several years.

Strong icy winds sweeping the state has plummeted the mercury. While the Kufri near Shimla is covered under snow, Manali so far has received around a foot snow while it is still continuing. Mall road and other tourist spots are boring deserted look in Manali as tourists are not coming out of their hotel rooms.

People in Dharamsala and Palampur area were left pleasantly surprised to find snowfall in the morning hours. Snowfall was received upto Kotwali bazar.

In Lahaul valley of Lahaul-Spiti district, heavy snowfall has crippled the normal life and there is threat of avalanches for which administration has already issued warnings to people to stay indoors.

In Shimla, chilly weather has kept residents of the city indoors and an erratic supply of electricity in some areas of Shimla added to the woes of people. Adjoining areas of Shimla including Kandhaghat, Solan, and Shogi also reported showers throughout the day. The lower areas in Shimla received rainfall while some areas of the upper Shimla district including Kufri, Narkanda, Jubbal, Chopal, Kothkhai and Kharapathar reported snowfall since Saturday morning.

The local met officials in Shimla said that all the lower areas of Himachal have received rainfall with the higher reaches experiencing snowfall. According to the latest information received, higher reaches of Kinnaur including Kalpa reported a snowfall of 21cm, Sangla12cm and Keylong 45 cm. According to the forecast by the met department, lower areas will continue to receive rainfall and higher reaches in the state will continue to experience snowfall.

Read more: Snowfall in Shimla raises tourists' ecstacy - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Snowfall-in-Shimla-raises-tourists-ecstacy/articleshow/7291462.cms#ixzz1B69yjJSM

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