Frost hits queen of hill stations

Coimbatore: Residents of Ooty woke up early Wednesday to see layers of frost covering plants and vehicles.
Weather experts attributed the frost formation to the cold wave sweeping through Telangana, sending chills to other states. The frosty period is likely to continue till the end of the week.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai issued a frost warning in Ooty on Wednesday requesting people to stay indoors. “Though we do not record frost, frost sighting has been confirmed,” said an official. “We have asked people to stay indoors. If you have to step out, better keep your hands and feet covered. We also expect formation of ground frost, which may make surfaces slippery.”

Frost forms when there are plenty of water droplets in the air. They turn into ice crystals in extremely low temperature. “In Ooty, temperature has touched 5 C and even in crowded, interior parts, minimum temperature is around 9 C to 10 C,” said the official. “However, the crystals start melting around 7.30am.”

Ooty residents confirmed that it has been extremely cold since Monday night. “It has been bitterly cold since Monday and frost had covered leaves,” said D Radhakrishnan, a resident of Lovedale. “You can see the ice if you wake up around 6am,” he said.

The director of the Agro-climate Research Centre of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, S Paneerselvam, said that while the chilly conditions are likely to continue until mid-February, frost formation may reduce after a few days. “It should come down after Friday,” said a meteorologist from the centre.

Blogger Pradeep John, known as Tamil Nadu Weatherman, said the low temperatures were due to high pressure dominating the hill stations. “Munnar and Valparai have also been extremely cold and are also recording temperatures around 5 C. It should get better after January 5 or 6,” he said.