Shimla, March 4 (IANS): Cold returned to Himachal Pradesh on Sunday with the state's higher reaches experiencing more snowfall, while mid and low hills had widespread rainfall, the Met Office said.

The temperature remained near the freezing point in many places, a Meteorological department official here told IANS.

The state capital, which saw a low of five degrees Celsius, was lashed by rain, while Kalpa, around 250 km from here, experienced nine cm of snow.

Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti district, also saw nine cm snow.

Lower areas of the state including Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi towns received moderate rain, bringing down the temperature considerably.

Keylong recorded a low of minus 2.1 degree Celsius while it was minus 0.6 degree in Kalpa, minus 1.6 degree in Manali, 3.8 degrees in Dalhousie, 2.4 degrees in Kufri and 8.6 degrees in Dharamsala.

Manali experienced 45.6 mm rain, the highest in the state. However, hills overlooking the town had more snow.

"The high hills in Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Shimla, Sirmaur and Chamba districts have experienced moderate snowfall," said a weather department official.

He said the weather would largely be dry in the coming week.