Heavy rain accompanied by hailstorms is likely to continue across Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, with the State Meteorological Centre issuing orange and yellow weather alerts for 10 districts.
An orange alert has been issued for Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Kangra and Chamba districts, warning of heavy rain accompanied by hailstorms, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds at isolated places.
A yellow alert has also been issued for Solan, Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Sirmaur districts, where light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds is expected at isolated locations.
The Meteorological centre has forecast continued precipitation across the state till June 23 and issued yellow alerts for most districts up to June 22.
According to the forecast, minimum temperatures are expected to remain largely unchanged over the next few days, while maximum temperatures may decline by 2°C to 3°C due to the ongoing wet spell.
Meanwhile, light to moderate rain was recorded in several parts of the state during the past 24 hours.
Kataula in Mandi district received the highest rainfall of 60.1 mm, followed by Mandi town with 37.2 mm and Jogindernagar with 16 mm. Light precipitation was also reported from Shimla, Kufri and Bhuntar.
Minimum and maximum temperatures remained close to normal across the state. Minimum temperatures ranged between 6.8°C and 25°C, while maximum temperatures varied from 20°C to 36°C.
The maximum temperature recorded in Shimla was 25.5°C, Dharamsala 31.1°C, Manali 28.2°C, Solan 30.3°C, Kangra 34.6°C, Mandi 33.8°C, Sundernagar 35.1°C, Kufri 20.4°C, Bhuntar 33.6°C, Kalpa 24.6°C, Keylong 20.8°C, Nahan 31.2°C and Chamba 31.6°C.
Neri village in Hamirpur district recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state at 36.3°C, while Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti remained the coldest place with a minimum temperature of 6.8°C.
The weather department has advised residents and tourists to remain cautious during thunderstorms and avoid vulnerable areas prone to landslides, flash floods and falling trees during periods of intense rainfall.
