Himachal weather: Orange alert for thunderstorm, hail, gusty winds today

Yellow alert for thunderstorm, hail over next two days

TNR Desk
Himachal Pradesh is grappling with yet another twist in its weather pattern as the Meteorological Department has issued orange and yellow alerts across the state for the next three days. Subsequently, the weather is expected to remain clear.
An orange alert for thunderstorm accompanied with lightning, hail and gusty wind (40-50) kmph has been issued for isolated places in Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Kullu and Shimla districts on Saturday (May 11, 2024) while a yellow alert for thunderstorm and lightning is for other districts. On May 12, there is a yellow alert for thunderstorm accompanied with lightning, hail and gusty wind (40-50) kmph at isolated places in the state. On May 13, thunderstorm accompanied with lightning is likely to occur at isolated places.

Heavy rain in Una, Kasol
On Friday, a thunderstorm was experienced in Shimla, Jubberhatti, Sundernagar, Bhunter and Kangra. Over the past 24 hours, Una received 18.8 mm of rain, Kasol 17 mm, Sainj 17 mm, Olinda 16 mm, Bharmaur 12.5 mm, Jubberhatti 10.5 mm, Bhunter 8.6 mm, Nangal Dam 7.8 mm and Jogindernagar 7 mm.
Keylong was the coldest in the state at 5.1 degrees Celsius while Una was the warmest at 38.2 degrees Celsius. In Una, the weather changed all of a sudden on Friday after 4 pm, leading to heavy rain, hailstorm and gusty winds. The adverse weather resulted in numerous trees being uprooted and electric wires being snapped, leading to blackout across the city and surrounding areas. The rain and hailstorm, however, brought some relief for residents who had been struggling amid scorching heat with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in recent days. The respite was short-lived as the weather again changed abruptly.

Crops damaged due to storm
Farmers bore the brunt of the storm, with crops such as ladyfinger, gourd, brinjal, tomato, capsicum, green chilli, bitter gourd, onion and cucumber suffering extensive damage. Despite efforts to protect their harvest by gathering these in fields and covering them with tarpaulins, the strong winds and rain tore through the tarpaulins and left fields waterlogged.