People walk at historic Ridge Road after fresh snowfall in Shimla
Himachal Pradesh's picturesque resorts Shimla and Manali woke up on Thursday to a white blanket of snow, turning the hill stations even more picturesque.
The residents of Shimla shivered as icy winds brought down the minimum temperature to 0.1 degree Celsius. It saw 8 cm of overnight snow.
According to the Met Office in Shimla, Manali recorded 3 cm of snow.
Tourist spots near Shimla, such as honeymooners' paradise Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda experienced moderate snowfall.
The majestic Dhauladhar ranges of the Himalayas surrounding Dharamsala wore a fresh blanket of snow.
"High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur, Sirmaur and Shimla districts have experienced moderate to heavy snow," a Met official said.
Rain lashed lower areas of the state such as Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi, pulling down temperatures.
Kalpa in Kinnaur district, which saw more than a feet of snow, recorded a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius while the temperature was minus 8.9 degrees in Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district and 2.4 degrees in Manali. Dharamsala, which recorded 67.4 mm rain, registered 5.8 degrees.
"Over 100 routes in the interiors of Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Mandi, Sirmaur and Kinnaur districts have been closed due to snow," an official of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) told IANS.
According to the weather office, western disturbances - a storm system originating from the Mediterranean-Caspian Sea region and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - have started withdrawing from the region.