New Delhi:
Rains, accompanied by strong winds, and snowfall continued across north India today bringing back the winter chill as normal life was thrown out of gear by the hostile weather.
Overnight showers in Delhi ensured that there was a nip in the air and the maximum temperature dropped by seven notches below normal to settle at 16.1 degrees Celsius.
Rainfall of 5.8 mm was recorded in the national capital till 8.30 am; yesterday, the city received 15.4 mm of rainfall with the MeT office predicting light showers on Sunday.
Himachal Pradesh, in the grip of bone-chilling cold, saw more snowfall and rains on Saturday which led to a further dip in the mercury.
Thick fog in several parts of the state reduced visibility to a few metres and vehicles moved at a snails pace with their headlights on even during the day.
The minimum in state capital Shimla was 2.2 degrees while the maximum dropped to 6.4 degrees, five notches below normal.
Manali, which received 27 mm of rains, saw the mercury settling at freezing point as temperatures, after dropping by as much as six to eight degrees yesterday, fell a further two to three notches today.
The cold returned to Uttarakhand where showers in the plains and heavy snowing in the higher reaches confined people indoors.
Pithoragarh, Uttarkashi, Tehri and Dhanaulti near Mussoorie received heavy snowfall while Dehradun and Haridwar were lashed by rains accompanied by strong gusts of wind.
Haridwar recorded 45 mm of rains followed by Tehri (39.4) and Dehradun (23.6), MeT office said.