Rain, storm in Doon cause temperature plunge

DEHRADUN: A rainy and stormy Sunday was witnessed in Doon as light to moderate rain and thunderstorm continued for the second consecutive day. Other low lying places in the state also witnessed overcast conditions while higher reaches in Uttarakhand received snowfall. Dark clouds hovered over the state capital throughout the day with intermittent rain and hailstones lashing parts of the city. Since Saturday, Dehradun has received 14.3mm rain while Tehri witnessed 23.2mm rainfall. “Many places in the state received light to moderate rainfall in last 48 hours and weather is expected to get clear Monday morning onwards. Snow was also witnessed at higher reaches with a height above 3,500 meters,” Bikram Singh, Director, Meteorological Centre, Uttarakhand, told TOI. High-altitude places in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Rudraprayag districts, which had witnessed light snowfall on Saturday, received snow on Sunday as well. Temperatures across the state have plunged as a result of rain and snow in the last two days. According to Bikram Singh, “There won’t be significant rise in the temperatures in days to some and mercury will hover around normal level.” An avalanche warning was issued by Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) for vulnerable high-altitude places in Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh districts on Saturday and Sunday. However, no such incident has been reported anywhere in the state.