Snowfall in Shimla, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Doodhpatri? Check IMD's orange alert for Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir

Higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh received light to moderate snowfall on Thursday, February 27. Meanwhile, intermittent rains lashed several parts of middle and low hills, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

The weather office issued an orange alert for snowfall at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh on February 27 and 28, warning against heavy to very heavy precipitation in Mandi, Kangra, Kullu and Chamba districts. Furthermore, IMD warned against wet spells in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. Visuals from Chamba, Doodhpatri and Bandipora, show snow blanketing the landscape silver white.

IMD in a post on X stated, “Thunderstorms with Lightning and Very Heavy Rainfall/Snowfall likely to occur over Jammu Region and Himachal Pradesh. Thunderstorm accompanied with gusty wind (30-40 kmph), hailstorm and lightning likely at isolated places over Punjab and Haryana.”

Yellow alert issued for Kullu

Torul S Ravish s, Deputy Commissioner Kullu, said that yellow alert has been issued for Kullu till Sunday. 

"Snowfall will be seen in higher reaches, and rainfall in the lower reaches. We request locals and tourists to see the weather forecast before stepping out. The Rohtang road is open for 4X4 vehicles till Solang Nala... There is a warning of an avalanche above an altitude of 2300 mtrs," ANI quoted Torul S as saying.

Snowfall in higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh

Senior Scientist at Shimla's Meteorological Centre Sandeep Kumar Sharma said Lahaul-Spiti and the upper mountain areas of Kinnaur received snowfall of approximately one to one and a half feet on the night of February 26.

He added, “In the last 24 hours, snowfall has been recorded in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh, and rain has been observed in other regions. If we discuss the amount, Kullu has received 22 mm of rain, while Manali has witnessed 20 cm of snowfall. Other hill stations in the higher reaches have also received snowfall ranging between 8 cm and 20 cm,” ANI reported.

The Meteorological Department issued yellow alert for Lahaul and Spiti and Shimla and forecasted heavy snow in the region for the same period. At the same time, heavy downpour is expected in Una and Hamirpur districts.

Deficient rainfall

This time the state received 70.4 mm of rain during the winter season from January 1 to February 27, marking a deficit of 61 per cent. The realised rainfall is significantly much below the normal rainfall of 181.7 mm, PTI reported.

Since Wednesday evening, Keylong received over 20 cm snowfall, Khadrala registered 12 cm, Kukumseri recorded 9.6 cm, Hansa 8 cm and Kalpa 3.4 cm. Weather department in its press release dated February 27 said heavy rainfall and snowfall is likely over Jammu-Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh on February 27 and 28.