>Mercury plummets, SSG, Mughal Road closed
Ø MeT predicts more wet weather for next 24 hours
Srinagar: The higher reaches of Kashmir received fresh snowfall while the plains were hit by moderate rains in the early hours of Sunday, officials said here.
The minimum temperature in the Gulmarg tourist resort plunged to minus 3.6 degrees Celsius, they said.
Gulmarg tourist resort, Machil, Sadhna Pass and Zojila Pass were some of the places in the valley where more than three inches of snow had accumulated by 8.30 am on Sunday.
Drass in Ladakh Union Territory also received snowfall, the officials said.
They said most parts of Kashmir were hit by moderate rainfall overnight with Srinagar city receiving the highest amount of 27 mm. Baramulla (23 mm), Bandipora (22 mm), Kulgam and Budgam (21 mm each) and Pulwama (20 mm) also received substantial rainfall till 8.30 am.
The downpour has resulted in a dip in night temperature across the valley as Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir at minus 3.6 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature at the rest of the weather stations in the valley was above the freezing point, the officials said.
The meteorological department has forecast a five-day wet spell of weather in Kashmir ending on November 10.
The department also predicted more wet weather for the next 24 hours.
The official said that in the 24 hours preceding 8:30 on Sunday morning, Srinagar received 26.1mm of rain, Qazigund 16.0mm, Pahalgam 14.3mm, Kupwara 16.2mm, Kokernag 11.4mm, Gulmarg 16.8mm, Jammu 16.2mm, Banihal 24.8mm, Batote 17.9mm, Katra 17.0mm, Bhaderwah 13.2mm and Kathua 10.2mm.
Meanwhile, he said, Srinagar recorded a low of 5.2°C against 5.6°C on the previous night. The temperature was 2.7°C above normal for the summer capital during this time of the year, he said.
Moreover, Srinagar-Leh highway and Mughal road have been closed for traffic after fresh snowfall in Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.
An official of the traffic department in Srinagar said that the two roads were closed early in the morning. However, he said that the Srinagar-Jammu national highway was open.
In a tweet, the traffic department said that the vehicles were plying on Jammu-Srinagar national highway. “Mughal road & SSG (Srinagar-Gulmarg-Gumri) road were closed for vehicular movement due to snowfall,” it said. (Agencies)
