Temperature in Lahore on Saturday afternoon dropped significantly after a rare hailstorm along with heavy rain and thunderstorm gave parts of the provincial capital a feel of a hill station.

Hailstones, the size of small strawberries, carpeted streets and rooftops with white colour as people watched the freak turn of weather with a pleasant surprise.

However, a traffic gridlock followed the hailstorm, making driving a misery on roads awash with a hail of stones. Mobile phones were taken out to take stills and make movies of the falling hailstones.

Several roads in the city were submerged under the rainwater while a number of feeders also tripped in city due to rain and several localities remained under darkness.

Heavy rains lashed adjoining areas of the city, inundating low lying regions and bringing lift to a standstill.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported rains in Narowal, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin and many other cities of Punjab.

The PMD also predicted rain/wind-thunderstorm with few heavy falls at scattered places in Kashmir and central Punjab, isolated places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and lower Sindh during the next 12 hours.

However, it expected hot and humid weather elsewhere in the country.