More rain, snow likely in Himachal's tourist places

Shimla, March 11 (IANS) The cold spell was slated to extend for a couple of days more in Himachal as many places in the hill state were likely to witness rain and moderate snow, weather officials said on Wednesday.Most prominent tourist places like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali, and Dalhousie, located in the mid-hills, may witness moderate snowfall between March 12 and 13, the weatherman said.Most parts of Himachal continued to shiver, with Manali and state capital Shimla recording 4.8 degrees Celsius. Shimla had received snow on March 7, apart from Kufri, Mashobra and Narkanda.Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state at minus 4 degrees.The mimimum temperature was zero degree in Kalpa, 2.8 degrees in Dalhousie, 1.3 degrees in Kufri, and 8.8 degrees in Dharamsala town, the venue of the ODI between India and South Africa on March 12.The western disturbances -- storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- will be active again in the region till March 14, Met Office Director Manmohan Singh told IANS.
--IANS vg/sdr/tsb