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IMD issues orange alert for heavy rain, snow in Himachal on Jan 27
The weather office also said that light to moderate rainfall with few intense spells is very likely at many places over plains and adjoining mid hills of the state on January 27
The India Meteorological Department’s (Shimla) office on Sunday said that light to moderate snowfall is expected at many places with a few intense spells very likely over many parts of high hills and adjoining mid hills of the state from January 26 to 28.
The weather office also said that light to moderate rainfall with few intense spells is very likely at many places over plains and adjoining mid hills of the state on January 27. The MeT department has sounded an orange alert of heavy rain or snowfall at isolated places in Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts for January 27.
Moreover, a yellow alert of hail has been sounded at isolated places in Una, Bilaspur, Solan and Sirmaur districts on January 27. According to MeT department officials, a few spells of light to moderate rain or snowfall with one or two intense spells are very likely over most of the tourist destinations in the state, including Naldehra, Manali, Shimla, Kufri, Narkanda, Solang Valley and Sissu on January 27.
Mercury to fall
According to IMD, the day temperatures are very likely to fall by about 4-8 degrees over many parts of the state on January 27, leading to cold day conditions. A yellow alert of cold day conditions has been sounded over Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur and Mandi districts for January 27, while thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and gusty winds (50-60 gusting to 70 kmph) are likely at isolated places over Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Kangra, Solan and Mandi districts from January 26 to 27, and over Shimla, Kullu and Sirmaur on January 27.
835 roads shut
Meanwhile, due to recent rain and snowfall in parts of the state, the road connectivity continued to remain affected, with 835 roads, including three national highways (NH-305 blocked at Jalori Pass, NH-03 and NH-505 blocked in Lahaul-Spiti district), still blocked in the state . While 280 roads remained blocked in Lahaul-Spiti district, 234 roads were blocked in Shimla district followed by 110 roads in Mandi and 78 in Chamba district.
A large number of tourists were left stranded in Manali on Sunday, two days after the heavy snowfall, due to massive traffic snarls.
Tourists attempting to leave Manali were caught in severe traffic congestion stretching over 10 km up to 15 mile near Patlikuhal. The gridlock was triggered by slippery road conditions coupled with an unusually high volume of vehicles.
The situation continued despite efforts by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to clear snow from the Kullu–Manali highway since Friday. Meanwhile, Shimla witnessed a heavy influx of tourists on Sunday, with visitors flocking to the town following recent snowfall and ahead of the public holiday on Monday. Traffic congestion was reported in Shimla town, while many tourists remained stuck for hours in Kufri.
