Dehradun | Overnight snowfall and rain continued to lash several parts of Uttarakhand on Thursday adding to the chill, acording to the meteorological department.

The temperature is likely to plummet by 4-5 degrees Celsius due to the continuing snowfall and rain, the MeT said.

The recent change in weather has ended a prolonged dry spell which was posing a threat to the apple crop in the upper Himalayan region.

Snowfall in the upper reaches of the state and intermittent showers in the lower areas continued in Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Dehradun districts on Thursday, it added. Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib, Valley of Flowers, Nanda Devi national park, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines and Chakrata in Dehradun district are all carpeted with snow.

The MeT had issued a yellow alert for heavy rain, snowfall and thunderstorms at isolated places in the hills of Uttarakhand for a 24-hour period starting Wednesday evening.

The current meteorological analysis and weather prediction models indicate that an active western disturbance is likely to affect Uttarakhand from January 31 to February 1, the weather office said