Manali continues to experience snow, more in Himachal till Jan 9

Shimla, Jan 6 : Even as snow continued to elude Himachal Pradesh's capital Shimla on Sunday, the picturesque tourist resort of Manali experienced snow on the second day too. There are chances of more rain and snow in the state till Wednesday, weather officials said.

"Manali and the hills overlooking it experienced moderate snow. There are chances of more snow till January 9," an official from the Met Office here told IANS.

According to an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official, Shimla recorded mild rainfall, with chances of snow later in the day.

The picturesque Kothi, near Manali, recorded a fair amount of snow.

Shimla residents shivered as icy winds brought down the minimum temperature to 1.7 degrees Celsius.

Tourist spots near Shimla, like Kufri and Narkanda, experienced mild snow, turning these hill stations even more picturesque.

Tourists from the plains began to descend on Manali, which saw nine cm snow.

Kalpa, about 250 km from the state capital, experienced 13 cm of snow. It recorded a low of minus 3.8 degree Celsius.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing intermittent snow since Friday," the official said.

Rains lashed towns in lower hills in Himachal Pradesh such as Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi, pushing down the mercury.

Dharamsala recorded 21.8 mm of rain, the highest in the state.

Peaks overlooking popular tourist sites like Shimla, Dharamsala and Palampur also got snow.

"We are hopeful of getting more tourists in Manali with this spell of snow," hotelier Vikram Thakur told IANS on phone.

The Met said western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- are likely to remain active in the region till January 9.

Under the influence of western disturbance, rainfall and snowfall will occur at most places in the state till January 6.

Thereafter, under the influence of another western disturbance from January 8, isolated to scattered precipitation would occur in the state till January 9.