Srinagar: Kashmir valley witnessed intermittent snowfall in the upper reaches and light rainfall in plains for the second day on Tuesday, even as the weather office predicted the wet spell to continue till Wednesday evening.
The meteorological department had earlier predicted snow and rain in J&K and Ladakh from Nov 23rd to 25th, while also issuing warning for avalanches at higher reaches and vulnerable places.
The snowfall and rain on Tuesday extended the closure of two main roads, the Mughal Road and the Srinagar to Leh road, for the second day.
Traffic was restored fully on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Tuesday with vehicles allowed to move from Jammu towards Srinagar. The highway had been shut since Monday afternoon due to landslides, shooting stones and slippery condition of the road, a traffic official told Kashmir Reader.
He added that there wasn’t any disruption of traffic on Tuesday as the weather remained cloudy without any precipitation during the day.
High-altitude areas in Kashmir remained draped in a blanket of fresh snow, enthralling tourists. The plains, however, wore a sulky look with light rainfall occurring in places, leading to a flip-flop in day and night temperatures.
According to the official data, Srinagar city received rainfall of about 0.3 mm, Qazigund 2.0 mm, and Pahalgam 2.4 mm on Tuesday. Gulmarg received 10.8 mm rainfall, Kupwara 5.2 mm, and Kokernag 0.2 mm.
Weather officials told Kashmir Reader that there wasn’t any major activity of snowfall or rainfall across Kashmir valley on Tuesday. The department had already predicted less possibility of precipitation on Tuesday.
“Overall, there wasn’t any major activity of precipitation on Tuesday,” Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, Deputy Director, Meteorological Department, J&K, told Kashmir Reader.
However, he said, the upper reaches are likely to experience snowfall again along with rainfall in plain areas of Kashmir valley on Wednesday. “There are strong chances of snowfall in upper reaches and rainfall in the plains of Kashmir valley on Wednesday and it will continue till evening,” he said.
He added that the weather is likely to see a significant change after Wednesday evening, and this will mark the end of the wet spell till the end of November. “The weather will improve from Wednesday evening. After that, there isn’t any sort of inclement weather likely. The weather will remain dry till the end of this month,” Ahmad said.
As per Met officials, Srinagar city recorded a maximum temperature of 5.8 degree Celsius and minimum temperature of minus 0.1 degree Celsius on Tuesday, a considerable dip of about 1.5 degree Celsius in the night temperature of the previous day.
The famous ski-resort Gulmarg continued to remain the coldest with maximum temperature settling at 0 degree Celsius and minimum temperature as low as minus 4.6 degree Celsius on Tuesday, while tourist destination Pahalgam recorded maximum temperature of 3.0 degree Celsius and minimum temperature of 0.2 degree Celsius.
Qazigund in south Kashmir settled at 6.3 degree Celsius maximum temperature and 1.6 degree Celsius minimum temperature. Kupwara recorded maximum temperature of 2.9 degree Celsius and minimum temperature of minus 0.6 degree Celsius on Tuesday.
Regarding traffic movement on the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the traffic department said on Tuesday that subject to fair weather conditions, traffic will be allowed to move from Srinagar towards Jammu on Wednesday, but advised people to avoid journeying on the highway in view of the inclement weather forecast by the Met department.
For Mughal Road and Leh-Kargil Road, the department said that the road remains closed due to the accumulation of snow. Both the stretches have received heavy snowfall rendering the road to remain blocked, officials said.

KALEEM GEELANI