Shimla, Nov 10 (PTI) Most parts of Himachal Pradesh witnessed a winter chill on Friday as the mercury plummeted following widespread rain in mid and lower hills and snowfall in the tribal belt and higher reaches.
People were forced to stay indoors and put on woolen clothes as chilly winds accompanied by rain and snow lashed the state.
The maximum temperature dropped by five to eleven degrees at several places.
Una, which was the hottest in the state the previous day with a high of 29 degrees Celsius, Friday logged a day temperature of 17 degrees Celsius, a drop of eleven notches.
Chamba, Solan and Shimla recorded a high of 14.9 degrees Celsius, 20 degrees Celsius and 15.2 degrees Celsius, against 24.1 degrees, 24 degrees and 19.2 degrees Celsius noted a day earlier.
Koksar and Gondla in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district recorded 9 and 4 cm of snowfall.
Dalhousie in Chamba was the wettest in the state with 41 mm rain, followed by 21.5 mm at Berthin, 20.4 mm at Kangra, 17 mm at Una, 11 mm at Sundernagar and 10 mm at Shimla.
The strategic Leh-Manali National Highway was closed for vehicular traffic on Friday after fresh snowfall in the higher reaches of Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti districts, while light to moderate snowfall occurred near Atal Tunnel, Sissu, Koksar and Rohtang Pass.
The vehicular movement from Darcha to Sarchu and Koksar to Rohtang has been disrupted due to fresh snowfall and National Highway 505 (Sumdo-Kaza-Gramphu) has also been blocked due to snowfall, said Lahaul and Spiti SP Mayank Chaudhary.
The state capital experienced intermittent moderate rains accompanied by chilly winds. Dark convective clouds overcast the city and fog engulfed the region, reducing visibility to a few metres, disrupting road traffic and leading to traffic jams.
Higher reaches of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu and Rohtang Pass, Dhauladhar ranges and Pin Valley experienced moderate snowfall while Dharamshala, engulfed under fog, also witnessed moderate rains.
Light rain coupled with dust storm was witnessed in parts of Hamirpur district, following which the power supply was hit. The region witnessed a clear day in mid and lower hills in the morning but by the afternoon, the sky was heavily overcast as intermittent rains and icy winds lashed the region.
Kusumseri and Keylong recorded a low night temperature of minus 0.6 degrees and minus 0.5 degrees Celsius while Sumdo, Kalpa 3.2 recorded degrees, Narkanda 5 degrees and Manali 6 degrees Celsius.
The local meteorological station predicted rains in mid and lower hills and rain or snow in the higher reaches on Saturday.
The MeT has issued a yellow warning of light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunder, lightning and gusty winds with heavy rains at isolated places Chamba, Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Mandi and Lahaul divisions and snowfall at isolated places in high altitude areas and tribal belt. PTI COR BPL RPA