Disrupts Normal Life In Plains, Shuts Inter-District Roads In Higher Reaches
Srinagar: Srinagar and parts of Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Thursday, while the higher reaches of the valley received moderate to heavy rainfall, officials said. The snowfall at winter’s fag end is expected to provide much needed relief from the prolonged dry weather this season and as such brought cheer to people.
The snowfall continued in many areas until the last reports came in. Light snowfall started in Srinagar and other plains of Kashmir in the evening, the officials said adding that the plains had been lashed by intermittent rains in the last 24 hours. Gulmarg, Sonamarg, and Pahalgam received fresh snowfall, bringing joy to tourists, they added. Razdan Top and Gurez in Bandipora, Sadhna Top, Handwara and Kupwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district and Mughal Road in Shopian also received fresh snowfall. Other high-altitude areas that received snowfall include Zojila Pass, Sinthan Top and Amarnath Cave.
Many inter-district roads in the higher reaches, including the Srinagar-Leh highway, were closed due to snow accumulation.
The meteorological department said light to moderate rain or snow is possible at most places, with isolated to scattered heavy falls, until Friday noon. The weather is likely to improve after that.
The weather generally will remain cloudy with light rain/snow at isolated to scattered places during March 1 and 2, while light to moderate rain and snow will occur at many places on March 3.
The weather will generally remain dry from March 4 to 8.
It has also issued an advisory stating that there is a possibility of temporary disruption of surface transportation, mainly over Sadhna Pass, Razdan Pass, the Sonamarg-Zojila-Gumri axis, Mughal Road, Sinthan Pass, and other major roads of hilly districts. It has also advised tourists, travellers, and transporters to plan their trips accordingly and follow admin/traffic advisories.
Farmers have also been advised to suspend irrigation and other farm operations during the period.
Giving parameters of the rain and snowfall during the past 24 hours, the MeT office said that the picnic spot of Kokernag in south Kashmir witnessed the highest precipitation, recording a rainfall of 38.6 mm, followed by the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, which received 23.8 mm, and Kupwara, which received 16.7 mm, Pahalgam, which received 11.2 mm, Qazidung 9.6mm and Srinagar 4.4mm during the past 24 hours.
The night temperature improved at most weather stations of the Kashmir Valley, with Srinagar
recording a low of 5.1°C during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, and it was 3.3°C above the average during this period of the season. The day temperature slipped down to 6.5°C in Srinagar, and this was 5.5°C below normal for the place.
The tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir had a low of 1.0°C, the ski resort of Gulmarg at 1.8°C, Kokernag 1.8°C, Kupwara 1.5°C and Qazigund 3.2°C respectively, the MeT office said.