Shimla, Jan 29 (IANS): More snow fell over Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, making the tourist towns more picturesque, but traffic was hampered in many parts of the state as a thick blanket of snow piled on the roads.

The temperatures remained below the freezing point in many places after widespread snow and rain, a meteorological department official here told IANS.

Kalpa, around 250 km from here, recorded a low at a minus 3.5 degrees Celsius. It saw 26.4 cm snow in the past 24 hours.

Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti district, the coldest in the state, recorded a low of minus 5.7 degrees Celsius. Temperatures were minus one degree Celsius in Shimla and 1.4 degrees in Dharamsala. Shimla saw 10.2 cm snow, while Dharamsala had 49.6 mm rain.

Manali, which saw a low of minus 1.8 degree, saw 8 cm snow.

Shimla's nearby destinations Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda experienced moderate to heavy snowfall, the official said. Kufri experienced the state's highest 45 cm snow.

Snow could be seen in several areas of Shimla like the Mall Road, the Ridge, the US Club and Jakhu hills.

The snow has cut off Kinnaur district and towns in Shimla district such as Kufri, Narkanda, Jubbal, Kotkhai, Kumarsain, Kharapathar, Rohru and Chopal, a government official said.

The road link to towns in upper Shimla is likely to be restored by Wednesday evening, the official said.

Officials said the bad weather had affected road network in the higher reaches of Kinnaur, Shimla, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu and Sirmaur districts and efforts were being made to reopen them.

The rain and snow are likely to continue till Thursday, said the Met official.