Trees were uprooted, roofs of houses, schools and cowsheds were blown off, several vehicles were damaged and dozens of cattle perished as severe thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning, harsh gusts and sharp showers wreaked havoc in several areas of Himachal Pradesh on early Monday.

Roofs of at least five houses and ten cowsheds were blown off in Ghalincha, Gharyal, Kameda and Kandi villages in Banjar area of Kullu district while uprooted trees damaged overhead power transmission lines at some places in Shimla and Kangra.

Vehicle traffic at Jalori pass was disrupted as an uprooted tree blocked the road.

Uprooted trees damaged several vehicles in Sundernagar area of Mandi district while dozens of cattle perished due to lightning in another village in the area, reports reaching here said.

A lineman of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board was electrocuted while repairing a fault in Brindavan area in Kangra district as power supply was suddenly restored, the only death reported during the sudden bout of inclement weather.

Paprola and Chhota Bhangal areas of Baijnath subdivision also suffered heavy damage as strong winds swept the region, uprooting trees, blocking roads and disrupting power. The electricity supply has been restored and restoration works are underway in full swing, officials said.

Moderate rains lashed several parts of the state in the early hours, with Bijahi, Guler, Pandoh areas receiving 40-50 mm of rainfall. Kangra recorded 32.4 mm, followed by Sarahan at 30 mm, Bhuntar 25.6 mm, Palampur 25.4 mm, Tabo 24.5 mm, Mandi 22.4 mm, Dehra Gopipur 18.3 mm, and Manali 16 mm.

Light rains were witnessed in Sundernagar which logged 13.9 mm rainfall, followed by Jubberhatti at 10.6 mm, Bilapsur 9.8 mm, Kalpa 8.1 mm, Kasauli 6 mm, and Shimla and Kufri at 5 mm each.

Thunderstorms and lightening activity was witnessed in Shimla, Jot, Murari Devi, Sundernagar, Bhuntar, Jubberhatti and Kangra while gusty winds ranging between 57-65 kmph lashed Sundernagar, Seobagh and Bilaspur.

The Shimla meteorological office on Monday issued an alert for hailstorm, thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds at 40-70 kmph at isolated places in four districts -- Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Sirmaur- on Tuesday, warning that the inclement weather may disrupt daily activities and pose some risks property and power supply.

It also predicted the wet spell in the state to continue till May 16 as a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect Northwest India from May 15.

Light to moderate rain and snow is likely in most parts of the state on May 11, 12 and 13, at few areas on May 14, 15 and 16, and in isolated places on May 17, the weather office said.

Keylong was the coldest during the night on Monday, recording a low of 4 degrees Celsius while Una was the hottest during the day at 34.8 degrees Celsius.

During the ongoing pre-monsoon season, Himachal Pradesh has received 191.6 mm rainfall from March 1 to May 11 against normal of 201.9 mm, a deficit of five per cent.