A day after snowfall, several parts of Himachal Pradesh including its capital Shimla woke up to a sunny morning on Thursday but the meteorological department issued a fresh orange warning for heavy rain, snowfall in the state on January 12.
However, most of the middle and high hills of the state including Shimla, Kufri, Manali, Dalhousie and Kalpa shivered at below freezing point with the lowest temperature recorded in tribal Lahaul-Spiti district's administrative centre Keylong at minus 14.6 degrees Celsius, Shimla Met Centre Director Manmohan Singh said.
The minimum temperature in Kinnaur's Kalpa was minus 9.1 degrees Celsius, followed by Manali minus 7.8, Dalhousie minus 5.6, Kufri minus 5.2 and Shimla minus 3.7 degrees Celsius respectively. Similarly the minimum temperature in Solan was minus 0.8 degrees Celsius and in Palampur of Kangra district was minus 0.8 degrees Celsius, Singh said.
He said the weather would mostly remain dry in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile the work to clear snow from roads is on, a public works department official said adding that 879 roads in the state were blocked after widespread snowfall on Wednesday.
In the meantime, Shimla police has issued an advisory to the public to remain cautious while driving and even moving on foot as roads might be slippery even after clearing of snow.
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On its Facebook page, Shimla police warned commuters the roads might be slippery even after the snow is cleared. Negligent driving and walking might hurt, Shimla Superintendent of Police Omapati Jamwal said.
The Met Centre forecast heavy rain, snowfall in middle and high hills of the state from January 11 to 14, however it issued orange warning for Sunday only.
The colour-coded warnings are issued to alert the public ahead of severe or hazardous weather, which has the potential to cause "damage, widespread disruption or danger to life".
Orange is for weathers that have the capacity to impact significantly.
Kharapathar in Shimla district experienced the highest 105 cm snowfall between 5.30 pm Tuesday and 5.30 pm Wednesday, followed by Kufri in Shimla district (90 cm), Dalhousie in Chamba district (65 cm), Shimla (50 cm) and Kalpa in Kinnaur district (32 cm), the Met Centre added.
Power and water supply has been adversely affected in parts of the state due to heavy snowfall.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday evening directed deputy commissioners of various districts to restore essential services in the state at the earliest.
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