Dehradun: A thick sheet of snow covered the hills of Dhanaulti near Mussoorie Friday as Uttarakhand reeled under intense cold with the higher reaches of Himalayas in Kumaon and Garhwal regions receiving heavy snowfall and the plains lashed by moderate to heavy rains.
The current spell of snowfall and rains in the hill state has been caused by the western disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir and an induced cyclonic circulation over Rajasthan and adjoining areas, Met office Director Anand Sharma said.
Places located at an altitude of over 3,000 metres in Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts received heavy snowfall while lower areas in these districts were lashed by rains, he said.
Various places, including popular tourist spots like Haridwar and Nainital, received moderate to heavy showers with Joshimath in Chamoli district recording the maximum of 25.2 MM of rains followed by Karnaprayag which received 12.2 MM of rains and Dehradun which received 10.2 mm of showers.
The weather is likely to clear up in a couple of days but the cold will further intensify as the minimum temperature may drop by 3-4 degrees, he said.
The minimum recorded today was 10 degrees Celsius, he said, adding, that mist and fog are likely to engulf parts of Udhamsingh Nagar and Haridwar districts in a day or two.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 14, 2012, 16:31