Srinagar: Weatherman on Tuesday said that weather was very likely to remain dry for next five days and ruled out possibility of any major snowfall in J&K and Ladakh for next two weeks.
“Weather is very likely to remain dry for the next 5 days. There is no forecast of any major snowfall in J&K and Ladakh for next 2 weeks,” Director Meteorological Department Sonam Lotus said .
He said that there was a possibility of fog in plains of Jammu and Kashmir for next few days from February 1. “There will be warmer days and colder nights in both J&K and Ladakh during the next few days,” he added.
Meanwhile, in last 24 till 0830 hours today, Srinagar received 6.29 inches of snow, Qazigund 9.8 inches, Pahalgam 10.56 inches, Kupwara 7.87 inches, Kokernag 7.1 inches and Gulmarg 19.7 inches, Banihal 1.37 inches, Batote 0.4 inches and Bhaderwah 0.8 inches, an official of the MeT department said.
Regarding minimum temperature, he said, Srinagar recorded a low of 0.0°C against minus 0.2°C on the previous night. Today’s minimum temperature, he said, was above normal by 0.7°C for the summer capital.
Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of minus 0.4°C against minus 0.1°C on the previous night and it was 1.7°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of minus 4.7°C against minus 1.4°C on the previous night and it was 1.4°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.8°C, the same as on the previous night and it was 1.6°C above normal for the place, the officials said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 8.4°C against minus 4.6°C on the previous night and it was 0.8°C below normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury settled at minus 0.8°C against minus 0.4°C on the previous night and it was above 1.5°C above normal for the north Kashmir area.
Jammu received 26.6mm of rain during the 24 hours and recorded a low of 7.1°C against 10.4°C on the previous night. It was 1.3°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal, he said, had 39.8mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of minus 0.4°C (below normal by 1.2°C); Batote 52.1mm of rain and recorded a low of minus 0.5°C (below normal by 2.6°C); Katra received 49.4mm of rain and recorded a low of 6.1°C (0.9°C below normal) while Bhadarwah received 27.8mm of rain during the time and recorded minimum temperature of 0.2°C (0.8°C above normal).
Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 8.0°C and minus 10.2°C respectively, the official said.
While ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the 40-day harshest winter period when the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent — began on December 21 and ended on January 30, the cold wave continues in the valley.
It is followed by a 20-day ‘Chillai Khurd’ and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai Bachha’ follows it.

Press Trust of India