Shimla, January 17: The India Meteorological Department on Friday forecast widespread rains and snowfall in the hilly states of the North India, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. A cyclonic circulation between 1.5 and 3.6 km above mean sea level lies over West Uttar Pradesh and neighbourhood, due to which hilly states are expected to receive rain and snowfall and temperature is likely to dip by two-three degrees. Himachal Pradesh: People Advised Not to Travel to Shimla, Manali as Over 250 Roads Blocked Due to Heavy Snowfall.

The IMD added, “Fairly widespread to widespread rain/snow with heavy falls and thunderstorm accompanied with lightning & hail over Uttarakhand during next 24 hours with significant reduction thereafter.” Meanwhile, a thick blanket of fog engulfed the plains. According to reports, due to dense fog,   visibility recorded to 25 metres or less cities like Amritsar, Patiala and Agra. Winter 2019 in Images: Snowfall Turns Himachal Pradesh in Winter Wonderland.

Meanwhile, an intense cold wave continued in Himachal Pradesh on Friday with most parts shivering as Manali recorded the minimum temperature of 0.2 degree celsius. Khadrala in Shimla district had 15.2 cm snow, the highest in the state, while Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest at minus 10.3 degrees Celsius.

Jammu-Srinagar national highway was opened for traffic on Friday after remaining closed for five days. Thousands of vehicles were stranded on the highway as heavy snowfall caused landslides at some places. The stranded vehicles from Jammu were being allowed to move to Srinagar, which will be followed by allowing the stranded Srinagar-bound vehicles,

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 17, 2020 03:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).