Higher reaches accumulate more snow, rains lash plains; mercury drops in Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 16: Higher reaches of Kashmir Valley including Gulmarg, the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, accumulated fresh snowfall even as plains received rainfall with Kupwara district recording highest downpour in last 24 hours.
Official sources said on Monday that Srinagar recorded 3.7mm of rainfall in last 24 hours upto 0830 hours while as it recorded night temperature of 2.3 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir, received rainfall of 16.2mm, Pahalgam 15.0mm (1cm snow), Kupwara 34.4mm, Kokernag 8.2mm, Konibal 5.5mm, Anantnag 16.2mm, Bandipora 1mm, Budgam 2mm while Gulmarg recorded rain or snow equivalent to30.6mm. “There was fresh snowfall of 19cm (6.3 inches) of fresh snowfall at Gulmarg in last 24 hours, they said.
Regarding Jammu division, they said the winter capital of J&K received 26.6mm of rainfall during the time while Banihal had 37.4mm of rainfall (also 1.5cm snow), Batote 33.6mm, Katra 35.2mm, Bhaderwah 15.2mm, Kathua 20.2mm, Udhampur 72.8mm, Kishtwar 12mm, Samba 23mm and Reasi 5mm.
A meteorological department official said that mercury plunged to minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in Kupwara while Gulmarg remained coldest place in the entire J&K as it recorded night temperature of minus 3.0 degrees Celsius.
Regarding the important throughways, officials said that while Jammu-Srinagar highway was through for one-way traffic, Mughal road and Srinagar-Leh highway remained closed.
The meteorological department here has predicted dry weather from tomorrow even as it forecast “scattered light rain/snow/thundershowers over J&K and isolated light rain/snow over Ladakh region” in next 24 hours.