Another ‘erratic’ wet spell from Wednesday to Saturday; highway open for LMVs today from Jammu towards Srinagar
Srinagar: Several parts of Kashmir valley witnessed light rainfall on Sunday, and an increase in minimum temperatures, while the weatherman predicted the weather to stay dry on Monday and Tuesday but another “wet spell” expected from Wednesday till the weekend.
The meteorological (MeT) department of J&K had predicted wet weather across Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday and Sunday. The peak intensity of the precipitation was forecast for Sunday, but only light rainfall was witnessed during the day, with Srinagar city recording about 0.3 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours up to Sunday evening.
Qazigund, similarly, recorded 0.6 mm of rainfall, Pahalgam 4.6 mm, and Kupwara in north Kashmir about 5.0 mm till Sunday evening. The ski-resort Gulmarg recorded 2.8 mm during this period. Interestingly, Kokernag in south Kashmir didn’t receive any rainfall, weather officials said.
The weather is expected to improve by Monday and will remain dry till Wednesday. The weather expected to turn “wet and erratic” again from Wednesday till Saturday, bringing rainfall in plains and light snowfall over the higher reaches of J&K, weather officials said.
“The precipitation during this period will be witnessed in a staggered manner, like the previous wet spell,” Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, Deputy Director of the Meteorological Department in J&K, told Kashmir Reader.
The slight rainfall led to an increase in minimum temperatures across Kashmir valley. As per weather officials, Srinagar recorded a low of 7.0 degree Celsius, up from 3.8 degree Celsius on the previous night. Qazigund recorded a low of 4.3 degree Celsius, against 1.5 degree Celsius on the earlier night.
Pahalgam recorded a low of 3.2 degree Celsius, considerably up from minus 1.8 degree Celsius recorded a night before, while the mercury in Kokernag settled at a low of 3.6 degree Celsius, up from 2.5 degree Celsius on the previous night.
However, Gulmarg recorded below sub-zero level temperatures as the mercury settled at a low of minus 0.7 degree Celsius, up from minus 3.0 degree Celsius on the earlier night. Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of 5.2 degree Celsius, considerably up from 0.1 degree Celsius of the previous night.
Traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway will ply from Jammu towards Srinagar on Monday, the traffic department said, subject to fair weather and road conditions. Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) will be allowed from Jammu towards Srinagar with the Traffic Control Unit (TCU) Jammu communicating with Traffic Control Unit (TCU) Ramban before releasing the traffic.
LMVs, the department said, shall be allowed from Nagrota (Jammu) between 5 AM in the morning and 12 PM and subsequently from Jakheni (Udhampur) between 6 AM and 1 PM towards Srinagar. No vehicle shall be allowed before and after this time-slot, the department said.
For Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs), “Only stranded vehicles between Nashree and Ramban shall be allowed towards Srinagar,” it said.