Fresh snowfall in upper reaches, rains lash plains in Kashmir

Srinagar, Mar 7: As upper reaches received fresh snowfall and rains lashed plains at most places of Kashmir Valley, weatherman on Monday forecast partly cloudy weather from March 8 to 13 in Jammu and Kashmir.
A meteorological department official here said that reports of snowfall were received from upper reaches including Gurez, Zojila and Gulmarg. He said that Gulmarg, the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district received 5 centimetres of fresh snowfall in the last 24 hours till 0830 hours today and along with Gurez and Zojila, it received fresh snowfall. Srinagar and other parts also received incessant rains for the better half of the day.
“Light to moderate rain/snow is likely to occur at scattered places in next 24 hours,” he said, adding, “From March 8th to 13th, weather is likely to remain partly cloudy with chances of occasional light rain/snow (over higher reaches).”
However, he said, there’s no forecast of any “significant weather” till March 13.
The official said that Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K, recorded a low of 7.0°C against last night’s 5.8°C on the previous night.
Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir, recorded a low of 6.7°C against 3.4°C on the previous night, he said.
Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, had a low of 5.7°C against 2.7°C on the previous night, the official said.
Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir, recorded a low of 2.6°C against 1.2°C last night, he said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 1.6°C against minus 2.0°C on the previous night, he said.
The temperature was 1.9°C above normal for this time of the year in the famous resort, he said.
Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a low of 4.6°C against 5.8°C on the previous night, the official said.
Jammu recorded a low of 14.8°C against 14.0°C on the previous night, the official said. The temperature was 0.8°C above normal for the J&K’s winter capital during this time of the year, he said.
Banihal recorded a low of 10.6°C, Batote had a minimum of 9.7°C while Bhaderwah recorded a low of 6.8°C, the official said.
Ladakh’s Leh recorded a minimum of minus 0.4°C against last night minus 2.5°C on the previous night while automatic Kargil station at recorded a low of minus 6.8°C. Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia, recorded a low of minus 2.6°C against 5.0°C on the previous night, officials said. (GNS)