IMD puts snow over Kullu, Kinnaur and Spiti heights from 29 October, two weeks after Shinku La, Baralacha La and Kunzum La shut

The India Meteorological Department said on 28 October that Himachal Pradesh will get rain and light snow from 29 October, with the spell running intermittently until the morning or afternoon of 31 October. Shobhit Katiyar, the IMD head for the region, said light to moderate rain is likely at isolated places in Sirmaur, Shimla, Solan, Mandi, Kullu and Kinnaur, with light snowfall in the higher reaches of Kullu, Kinnaur and Spiti. A thunderstorm alert has been issued for Shimla, Sirmaur, Kullu and Mandi. No heavy rain or heavy snow warning is in force, and the system is the remnant of a cyclone that crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast.

For anyone with a Spiti or Lahaul drive on the calendar this week, that is the part to read twice. Light snow on a 4,500 metre pass is enough to shut it, and the authorities have already shown this month how fast that call comes.

What happened on 15 October

Fresh snow on 15 October closed Shinku La, Baralacha La and Kunzum La to all vehicles. Three road stretches went down with them: Rohtang to Sarchu on the Manali to Leh highway, Darcha to Shinku La on the Darcha to Shinku La to Padum road, and Gramphu to Batal on the Sumdo to Kaza to Gramphu highway. The Sumdo to Batal section and the Tandi to Kadhu Nullah stretch stayed open. Police evacuated around 100 vehicles stranded near Gondhla after continuous snowfall made the road slippery and driving difficult. Sural in Pangi valley recorded three inches of snow and Sach Pass got close to a foot, with vehicular traffic there suspended.

The rain gauges tell the rest of the story. Khadrala logged 81 mm, Dharamshala 28 mm, Palampur 19 mm and Kukumseri, in Lahaul, 15.9 mm.

How to read this if you are driving

The practical lesson from 15 October is that the Spiti circuit stops being a loop in late October. If Kunzum La or the Gramphu to Batal stretch shuts while you are in Kaza, your only way out is the long Sumdo and Kinnaur side, which adds two days. Plan the exit before you plan the entry, and keep a spare day in hand rather than a fixed flight the morning after.

Carry anti-skid chains and know how to fit them on a cold rim before you need them, because a 4x4 with road tyres on black ice is still a 4x4 with road tyres on black ice. Fuel up at Tandi or Kaza, not at the next place you hope to find. Drive the high passes in the morning window, when the overnight melt has not yet refrozen into glazed patches at Zingzingbar or Koksar. And when a district administration or the police stop vehicles at a barrier, that barrier exists because a recovery in a whiteout puts somebody else's life on the line. Going around it is not adventure.

The altitude part nobody budgets for

Ladakh Tourism's own travel advisory asks visitors to acclimatise for 48 hours in Leh before going higher, flags the risk of high-altitude pulmonary edema above 3,500 m, and says not to gain more than 300 to 500 m of sleeping altitude per day above 3,000 m. Those numbers apply just as much to Kaza at roughly Spiti height as they do to Nubra. Winter temperatures in Ladakh can drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius, and the advisory asks travellers to carry thermal wear and emergency supplies from October through March.

Cold plus altitude plus a long drive is the combination that puts people in hospital, not the trail itself. Build in the rest day, carry more water than you think you need, and treat a headache that will not go away as a reason to drive down rather than push on.

Sources

• Himachal Pradesh to receive rain and snowfall from October 29, thunderstorm alert issued, The News Mill, 28 October 2026
• Fresh snowfall in Himachal's higher reaches, several mountain passes closed, ThePrint, 15 October 2026
• Himachal: 100 vehicles evacuated from Gondhla amid heavy snowfall in Lahaul-Spiti, The Tribune, 15 October 2026
• Travel Advisory, Ladakh Tourism