Intermittent rains, thunderstorms lash Shimla and surrounding areas

Intermittent rains and thunderstorms lashed Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla and the surrounding areas on Wednesday while scattered rains occurred at isolated places and the tourist resort of Kufri received traces of snow.

Rajgarh received 13.4 mm rain, followed by Shimla 8 mm, Baijnath 5 mm, Kufri 4 mm, Gohar 2 mm and Jubbarhatti 1.3 mm.

The day temperatures dropped by a few notches and Dhaulakuan was hottest in the state with a high of 25.8 degree while Dharamshala, Shimla and Manali recorded a high of 18.1 degree, 14.8 degree and 11.5 degree.

The local meteorological office has predicted rain, snow and thunderstorms at isolated places in mid and higher hills on March 14 and dry weather thereafter.

As many as 280 roads, including 255 roads in Lahaul and Spiti, ten in Kinnaur, six in Kullu, five in Chamba, two in Mandi and one each in Shimla and Kangra districts, and five national highways are closed while 280 power transformers and three water supplies schemes are disrupted.