More snow and rain in Himachal

Himachal Pradesh's popular tourist destinations Kufri, Narkanda and Manali received more snowfall, pushing down the temperatures by several notches on Friday.

A government spokesperson said if the snowfall continued, services of state-run buses in upper Shimla might be affected.

While Shimla saw a light spell of snowfall, nearby places like Kufri and Narkanda experienced moderate snowfall, according to a Met official.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy snow since Wednesday night," the official said.

Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, recorded 12.5 cm of snow, while it was 23 cm in Kalpa in Kinnaur district.

Manali, which saw a low of minus 1.6 degree Celsius, recorded 12 cm of snow, while picturesque tourist resort Dalhousie in Chamba district had rains.

Manali's nearby popular skiing slopes in Solang had plentiful snow.

Shimla recorded a low of 1.9 degrees Celsius, while it was minus 3.3 degrees in Keylong, minus 1.2 degrees in Kalpa and 2.6 degrees in Dharamsala, which had 66.4 mm of rain, the highest in the state.

Incessant snowfall hampered vehicular traffic in Shimla, Kinnaur and Kullu districts, officials said.

The Met department's forecast said the western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea in the Central Asia and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- were likely to recede by Sunday.IANS