Flight Operations Hit, Some Roads Closed Amid Snowfall; Hailstorm Damages Orchards In South Kashmir
Srinagar: A few areas in the higher reaches of Kashmir received fresh snow while rain lashed the other parts, including the plains, of the valley on Saturday, officials said.
Tulail and Gurez in Bandipora district of north Kashmir and Sinthan Top in south Kashmir received fresh overnight snow.
While the Jammu-Srinagar highway remained open for traffic, other roads, including Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumuri (SSG) road that connects Srinagar to Leh , Bandipora –Gurez road in north Kashmir, Mughal road which connects south Kashmir with Pir Panjal region of Jammu division, Sinthan road that connects Anantnag with Kishtwar are temporarily closed due to snow accumulation.
Officials said traffic on these roads will be allowed after getting green signal from road maintenance agencies as per advisory.
Amid inclement weather conditions, authorities in Bandipora district suspended classwork up to Class VIII in Tulail and up to Class 5th in Tehsil Gurez on Saturday as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of students.
In Kashmir several districts received significant precipitation, with tourist resort of Gulmarg recording the highest rainfall.
According to the data from the Meteorological Department, Gulmarg in north Kashmir received
35.2 mm of rain, followed closely by Kokarnag in south Kashmir with 33.2 mm, Kupwara 20 mm, and Qazigund at 27.4 mm. Srinagar, the summer capital, recorded 18.3 mm of rainfall.
In Jammu division, Batote received 15.4 mm of rain- the highest in the region. MeT said the Jammu and Kashmir is likely to experience widespread light to moderate rain and thunderstorms over the next 24 hours. During this period isolated areas may witness heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds reaching speeds of 50-60 kmph. The weather is expected to improve gradually with a significant decrease in precipitation from the evening of April 20 onwards.
The downpour brought a significant drop in temperatures across Kashmir. The night temperatures across Jammu and Kashmir, however, remained notably above normal, with several areas recording deviations ranging from 1°C to 7°C above the seasonal average, the MeT said.
In the Kashmir division, most places recorded minimum temperatures 1°C to 4°C above normal.
The ski resort of Gulmarg emerged as the coldest spot in the Valley, recording a minimum of 1.4°C.
In the Jammu division, night temperatures were even warmer, ranging 1°C to 7°C above normal.
Bhaderwah recorded the lowest temperature in the division at 11.2°C.
Most areas of Kashmir also witnessed thunderstorms and gusty winds during the night, with a few areas in south Kashmir receiving hail that damaged produce in orchards, the officials said.
Also, inclement weather conditions led to cancellation of flights to and fro at Srinagar international airport.
According to an official of Airport Authority of India, three Indigo flights schedule to come from Kolkata and Delhi respectively stand cancelled as a result of which its outgoing departures also stand cancelled.
Further, Indigo declared cancellation of its Srinagar-Jammu departure flight (6E 214) due weather conditions at Jammu, he said.
Few departures are holding at Srinagar Airport for weather improvement added.