Himachal peaks covered in white sheet of snowfall on Saturday

Himachal Pradesh's popular tourist destinations Kufri and Dalhousie received more snowfall on Saturday leading to a drop in temperatures by several notches. A government spokesperson said services of state-run buses in upper Shimla, Chamba and Kinnaur districts were still hampered after Wednesday's heavy snowfall.

He said work to reopen roads was likely to be completed by Saturday evening. While Shimla saw a light spell of snowfall, nearby places like Kufri and Narkanda experienced moderate snowfall, according to a Met official.

Snow could be seen in large areas of Shimla like the Mall Road, Ridge, US Club and Jakhu Hills and would remain for one-two days. Picturesque tourist resort Dalhousie recorded 16 cm of snow, while it was 4 cm in Kalpa in Kinnaur district.

Manali, which saw a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius, experienced no snowfall along with its nearby popular skiing slopes Solang had mild spells of snow. Shimla recorded a low of 0.8 degree Celsius, while it was minus 14 in Keylong, minus 7.2 in Kalpa and 3.4 in Dharamsala.

The Met Department said the western disturbances -- storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea in Central Asia and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- receded from the region and dry weather would prevail in the next few days.