Shimla, May 30: An 'orange' alert for heavy rain and a 'yellow' warning for thunderstorms accompanied with gusty winds has been issued for isolated places in Himachal Pradesh for the next two days, the meteorological department said on Friday. Hailstorm followed by heavy rains lashed Shimla on Friday morning, causing inconvenience to school-going children. Dark convective clouds overcast the sky, reducing visibility to a few metres and forcing vehicles to move at a slow pace with headlights on.

The 40 minutes' heavy downpour that started around 7.20 am flooded choked drains in the town and garbage scattered on the roads. "The school buses were running late. I got totally drenched waiting for the bus," said Anjali, a class VI student. Himachal Pradesh Weather Forecast: Meteorological Department Predicts Hailstorm in Shimla and Surrounding Areas, Rain at Several Places; Check Details Here.

Heavy rainfall was also recorded in Solan and Mandi. Since Thursday evening, Rajgarh received 70 mm of rain followed by 47 mm in Ghaghas, 46.1 mm in Jubbarhatti, 43 mm in Kasauli, 37 mm in Baldwara, 32.4 mm in Dharampur, 30.5 mm in Neri and 30.1 mm in Slapper, data from the local Met read.

Shimla received 29.7 mm of rain followed by 29.6 mm in Murari Devi, 29.3 mm in Baggi, 27.6 mm in Shimla, 23.8 mm in Sundernagar, 21.5 mm in Nadaun, 18.3 mm in Dehra Gopipur and 10.8 mm in Bilaspur, it added. Gusty winds at speeds ranging between 39 to 61 kilometre per hour blew across Bilapsur, Seobagh, Bajaura, Kukumseri and Berthin, the weather office said. Himachal Pradesh Weather Forecast: Local Meteorological Department Issues Orange Alert for Heavy Rains and Snow in Mandi, Kangra, Kullu and Chamba Districts; Check Details Here.

Meanwhile, thunderstorms lashed Shimla, Jubbarhatti, Kangra, Bhuntar, Murari Devi, Jot, Palampur, Kangra, Baijnath and Sundernagar. The weather office has issued an 'orange' warning for heavy rain in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu and Mandi districts on May 31 and for Chamba, Kangra Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts on June 1.

It also issued a 'yellow' alert for thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds for all the 12 districts of the state. There was a significant fall in the maximum temperatures with Bilaspur being the hottest during the day with a high of 36.3 degrees Celsius. Keylong was coldest at night, recording a low of 4 degrees Celsius, it added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)