Shimla:
The weather remained dry and cold in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday with the minimum temperature settling 2 to 3 degrees Celsius below normal at many places, the meteorological department said.
Low visibility due to dense fog was observed in the plains and lower hills, including Una and southwestern part of Kangra district, it said.
The MeT office has predicted snowfall in middle and high hills of the state on December 31 and January 1.
The minimum temperature settled 2 to 3 degrees Celsius below normal, whereas the maximum temperature was recorded 3 to 4 degrees Celsius below normal in the last 24 hours, Director of Shimla Meteorological Centre Manmohan Singh said.
The lowest temperature in the state was recorded in Keylong at minus 14.7 degrees Celsius, he said.
Kalpa in Kinnaur district registered a low of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius, while Manali, Kufri, Sundernagar, Bhuntar and Solan shivered at minus 3, minus 1.2, minus 0.6, minus 0.5 and minus 0.4 degrees Celsius respectively, Singh said.
He said the minimum temperature in Shimla and Dalhousie was 1 and 1.7 degrees Celsius respectively.
Chamba recorded a low of 0.9 degrees Celsius, followed by Palampur (1), Dharamshala (3.2), Kangra (4), Mandi (4.3), Una (4.7), Hamirpur (4.8), Bilaspur (5), Nahan (6.5), Singh said.
He said the highest temperature was recorded in Hamirpur at 19.5 degrees Celsius.
Isolated places in the middle and high hills in the state are likely to receive rain and snowfall on December 31 and January 1, Singh said.
Dense fog and cold day conditions are likely in plains and low hills on Friday, he said.
