Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley received a fresh snowfall, bringing down the temperature and disrupting normal life on Thursday, officials said.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, and its adjoining areas received light snowfall this evening after moderate rains, bringing down the temperature and disrupting normal activities.
The mountains surrounding iconic Dal Lake in Srinagar turned white with the fresh snowfall today. The precipitation continued till late in the evening.
The inclement weather persisted for the third consecutive day in the Kashmir Valley, with higher reaches experiencing yet another heavy spell of snowfall, while the plains have been lashed by moderate to heavy rains over the past 24 hours.
Most of the higher reaches of Kashmir received moderate snowfall, with isolated areas also witnessing heavy accumulation, while rainfall was recorded in most plains of the valley.
The Meteorological Centre Srinagar office said the ski resort of Gulmarg received the highest accumulation of 20.0 cm of snow.
Apart from Gulmarg, snowfall was also reported from higher reaches of Kupwara, Shopian, Razdan Top in Bandipora, Jawahar Tunnel, Pir Panjal Range of mountains in south Kashmir, Sonamarg, Kargil, Drass, and Zanasker in Ladakh Union Territory, adding to the winter chill in these areas.
The Met forecast the weather generally will remain cloudy with light to moderate rain/snow at most places with isolated heavy rain/snow over both Kashmir and Jammu divisions during the next 24 hours.
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.
