Lucknow, Nov 30 (IANS): Cold wave tightened its grip as rain continued to lash Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow on Monday morning and the minimum temperature in the region was set to dip further, the regional meteorological office said.

Residents of Lucknow woke up to a steady spell of rain, leaving many schoolchildren and office-goers in the lurch. Icy winds blowing at a speed of 15 km per hour from neighbouring Uttarakhand only added to the winter bite.

Many parts of the state would witness cloudy weather or rain, especially eastern Uttar Pradesh, the Met office predicted. The state capital has been lashed by rain in the last 24 hours.

A drop in day and night temperatures would continue in the coming week, the Met office said.

The weatherman said that day temperature had already dropped by a few notches and the minimum temperature here on Sunday was recorded at 19 degrees Celsius, eight degrees below normal.

"Icy winds blowing in due to snowfall in Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand will add to the chill. Uttar Pradesh will face the winter at its fullest within a week," the Met office said.

Fog also appeared in some parts of Uttar Pradesh and was set to thicken by the month-end, the meteorological office said.