SRINAGAR: Rains lashed most plains including Srinagar while some parts of the Kashmir Valley received fresh snowfall with Gulmarg receiving more than one foot of it since overnight, officials said here on Monday.
The weather department here also said that intermittent light rain and snow was likely to continue till afternoon and thereafter gradual improvement was expected.
On February 7 and 8, news agency GNS quoted meteorological department official as having said that the weather would be “partly cloudy”. “Widespread light to moderate snowfall and rain was expected at many places from February 9-11,” he said. However, he said, “no major snowfall” was expected during the next one week.
He said that in last 24 hours till 0830 hours today, Srinagar received 5.2mm of rain, Qazigund 5.6mm, Kukernag 11.2mm, Jammu 1mm, Banihal 9.0mm, Batote 9.2cm, Katra 1.2mm, and Bhaderwah 3.6mm while Gulmarg received 35 cms (1.14-ft) of snowfall, Kupwara 5cms and Pahalgam 2cms.
Meanwhile amid cloud cover, the minimum temperature saw further increase except at a few places with Srinagar recording a low of 1.8°C, the same as on the previous night. Today’s minimum temperature, he said, was above normal by 2.2°C for the summer capital.
Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of minus 1.6°C against 0.4°C on the previous night and it was 3.1°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of minus 0.2°C against minus 5.4°C on the previous night and it was 6.0°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 1.1°C against 0.0°C on the previous night and it was 3.1°C above normal for the place, the officials said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 3.6°C against minus 6.4°C on the previous night and it was 3.1°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury recorded a drop and settled at minus 0.3°C against 2.9°C on the previous night and it was 1.7°C above normal for the north Kashmir area.
Jammu recorded a low of 11.9°C against 8.3°C °C on the previous night. It was 2.4°C above normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal, he said, recorded a low of 4.2°C (above normal by 3.2°C), Batote 3.1°C (above normal by 0.9°C), Katra 10.5°C (3.1°C above normal) and Bhadarwah 3.8°C (4.1°C above normal).
Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 9.5°C and minus 14.0°C respectively, the official said. While Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day long harsh winter period that started on December 21 has ended, Kashmir is under the grip of a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’. It will be followed by a 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) which is from February 20 to March 1.
