Since morning, Heavy hailstorm and sleet swept Mussoorie. Within a few hours, the hill-station and its surrounding areas were covered under a thick blanket of white mantle which progressed to get thicker as the day went by.
Visitors from in and around Dehradun made a beeline to the hill-station to enjoy the year’s first white mantle and that too on a weekend. For sister’s Manavi and Janaki from New Delhi, in town for New Year celebrations, the white bonanza was icing on the cake, “It has been worth the wait. We feel lucky to have witnessed the year’s first snowfall.”
Tea shops and maggi points made good business as the sudden dip in temperature meant a healthy turn out of tourists. Trudging through sleet, snow balling, skidding, sliding and making artistic snowman along the roadside meant the fun had just started.
Though, all roads leading to the hill-station were jammed with weekend rush hour, yet most of the occupants could be seen enjoying their fill of the snow from where they were stranded. Music, dance, singing and walking through the hail and sleet made for perfect selfies in the weather.
If the Meteorological Department is anything to go by, then the next four days will witness heavy snowfall and hail in places above 2000, 2500 mtrs in Uttarakhand.
With six inches of white mantel in place when this story was filed and no sign of respite, one can confirm that this is not only the first but the heaviest snowfall so far, that the town has witnessed this season.
Icy winter’s march across town could also bring its share of problems for residents, who could be seen preparing for the long haul. “Food, milk, filling buckets of water incase the water pipes burst, candle and match sticks, tinder wood, fuel and other basic necessities are being readied incase the snow lasts longer than what the weather apps show,” chips in long time resident Ravinder Singh.
