SHIMLA, June 13 -- The hill station of Kasauli recorded 105 millimetres of rainfall in 24 hours this week, a volume more typical of July's peak monsoon than of the second week of June. That it arrived before the southwest monsoon has reached the western Himalayas tells Himachal Pradesh something about the season ahead.

The India Meteorological Department's Met Centre in Shimla placed five districts under orange alert on June 11 and 12, covering Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Kangra and Sirmaur, and warning of heavy rain accompanied by hailstorms, lightning and gusty winds. Five more districts, Solan, Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Chamba, drew yellow alerts extending through June 14. A broader wet spell is forecast across the state through June 17, ...