Snowfall in Manali
By IANSMonday, January 4, 2010
MANALI - The popular tourist resort of Manali in Himachal Pradesh had moderate snowfall, the met office said Monday.
“Manali received moderate snowfall this (Monday) early morning. It saw four to five inches of snow,” Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office in state capital Shimla, said.
He said that Kothi, Marhi, Gulaba and the Rohtang Pass located near this town experienced moderate to heavy snowfall in the past 24 hours.
“This was the season’s second snowfall in Manali. The first was recorded Nov 9,” he said.
Singh said higher reaches of the Himalayas in Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Kinnaur and Kullu districts also had fresh spells of snow.
Shimla experienced intermittent rain Sunday.
“But this morning (Monday), the sky is totally clear,” Singh pointed out.
Temperatures plummeted across the state after the rain and snowfall.
The met office has predicted more rain and snowfall in the state Monday.
The rain and snow has brought cheers to farmers and apple growers as it is good for their crops.
“The long cold dry spell had provided enough chilling hours for good apple crop but the moisture content was lacking. Now, snowfall and rain in the entire apple belt has increased the moisture content in the soil, which is good for the crop,” said S.P. Bhardwaj, joint director at the Solan-based Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry.
