High-altitude destinations in Himachal get season's heaviest snowfall

Shimla, Oct 11 (IANS) High-altitude tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday witnessed season's heaviest snowfall while the state capital and Manali experienced overnight rains, pushing the mercury down by several notches, the weather office here said.Hoteliers cheered up in the hope of arrival of winter tourists with the timely onset of snowfall.The high-altitude Spiti and Lahaul valleys experienced moderate snowfall, making hill stations Kaza, Losar and Chicham more picturesque.Hills overlooking the picturesque tourist destinations of Chitkul, a village close to China border, in Kinnaur district and the majestic Rohtang Pass (13,050 feet), located 52 km from Manali, experienced snowfall."High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing light to moderate snow since Monday night, while mid and lower hills getting widespread rain," an official of the Met department told IANS.The majestic Dhauladhar ranges of the Himalayas surrounding Dharamsala wore fresh blanket of snow.Shimla, which received 19.2 mm rain, recorded the minimum temperature at 9.4 degree Celsius.Nearby tourist spots like Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda experienced rains.Manali, which saw a low of 10.4 degree, received 15 mm snow, while Dharamsala saw 81.3 mm rain, the highest in the state.Kalpa in Kinnaur district, which saw rain, recorded a low of 6.4 degrees Celsius, while the temperature was 3 degrees in Keylong.The Met department's forecast said that Western disturbances - a storm system originating from the Mediterranean-Caspian Sea region and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - would start withdrawing Wednesday.
--IANS vg/kvd

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