Thunderstorm, hailstorm batter parts of Himachal Pradesh causing widespread damage

CHANDIGARH: A squall accompanied by heavy rain and hailstorms lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday night, causing widespread damage and power outages were across the state.

Shimla remained without electricity for several hours. The weather department has issued a "yellow" alert for thunderstorms and lightning in parts of the state on April 18 and 19. Meanwhile, heavy rains also lashed Punjab and Chandigarh.

The squall struck Shimla around 11:15 PM plunging the town into darkness, the power supply was restored 10 hours later. The thunderstorm uprooted trees causing damage to vehicles, and blew off the roofs of makeshift houses.

In the upper Shimla region, high-velocity winds caused significant damage to apple and stone fruit trees like plum and apricot. In many areas, fruit was knocked off the trees. Apple growers in Jubbal and Rampur reported major losses.

The weather office has predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Solan, Sirmaur and Kinnaur districts on April 18 and 19. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are likely in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Lahaul-Spiti districts during this period.

On April 20 light to moderate rains are likely at many places and at few places on April 21 and 22 due to fresh Western Disturbance, as a cyclonic circulation lies over the region. There was an appreciable fall in the minimum temperatures. Lahaul and Spiti’s Keylong was coldest at night with a low of 0.5 degree Celsius.

As per MeT, Seobagh in Kullu district recorded the highest rainfall of 28.8 mm, followed by Lahaul-Spiti’s Kukumseri 23.8 mm, Narkanda 18 mm, Mandi 17.6 mm, Dharamshala 17 mm, Chamba 16 mm, Kalpa 15.6, Kufri 15 mm while the tourist resorts of Kasauli received 14.4 mm rain, Dalhousie 10 mm, Shimla 9.6 mm and Manali 6.8 mm.

Heavy rain, accompanied by strong winds, lashed many parts of Punjab and Chandigarh late yesterday night and in the early today morning.

As per the MeT Department Chandigarh received 8.3 mm of rain, however, the sky became clear in the morning and residents woke up to sunny weather. While Amritsar received (4.5 mm), Pathankot (3.2 mm), Gurdaspur (18.8 mm) and Rupnagar (6 mm) and in neighboring Haryana, Ambala received a light shower.