Monsoon 2013 rushes to Himachal

Shimla : Some two weeks before its normal date of arrival the monsoon (2013) is already in Himachal Pradesh bringing with it heavy rains here Saturday .

 “The SW monsoon has covered  Himachal Pradesh on June 15,”Manmohan Singh head of the meteorological department office said here Saturday .

 Wet weather has been forecast till June 19 at most places in the hill state .

 The weatherman has issued a warning of heavy rain and thundershowers at isolated places in the next 72 hours .

 After heavy rain since the wee hours residents and tourists awoke to fog and rain Saturday , Shimla recorded a maximum of 18 C  and a  minimum of 12.3 celsius . While Manali had a low of 12.6 C . Una the hottest place in the state recorded 18 C . While Kalpa in Kinnaur was 13.4 C .

Last year the monsoon arrived in Himachal on July 5 .

 The IMD says it will be a normal monsoon over India .It also says rains are likely to ease early this time over NW India sometime in August .