Orange alert in 5 Himachal Pradesh districts for June 4: Met

Shimla, Jun 3 (PTI) The meteorological centre here on Wednesday issued an orange alert for hailstorm, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in five districts of Himachal Pradesh for Thursday, officials said. The warning has been issued for Kangra, Mandi, Kullu, Shimla and Sirmaur districts, where gusty winds (speed 40-50 kmph) are likely at isolated places, they said. It has also issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds at isolated places in several parts of the state till Saturday, they said, adding that a wet spell in the state till June 9 has been forecasted. Several parts of the region received light to moderate rainfall over the past 24 hours since Tuesday. Rohru recorded the highest with 30 mm of rainfall, followed by Rajgarh 20 mm, Mandi 15.1 mm, Murari Devi 6.6 mm, Chopal 6 mm, and Jogindernagar 5 mm. Thunderstorms were witnessed in Shimla, Murari Devi and Kangra, while gusty winds (speeds 35-43 kmph) were recorded in Tabo and Sundernagar. Kukumseri, with a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius, was the coldest place in the state, while Neri recorded the highest maximum temperature at 37.4 degrees Celsius, the met office said. According to the department, a Yellow alert, "Be Aware", indicates the possibility of adverse weather conditions that may disrupt routine activities, while an Orange alert, "Be Prepared", warns of severe weather that may cause significant disruption to transport and essential services. PTI BPL SMV SHS