Kashmir draped in white after widespread snowfall

Srinagar, Feb 4: Most parts of Kashmir including Srinagar witnessed major snowfall of the season even as weatherman forecast more, officials said on Sunday.

They said it started snowing early in the morning, blanketing the plains while higher reaches saw more snowfall.

A meteorological department official said that plains received 3-6 inches of snowfall while 8-12 inches were recorded in the middle and higher reaches of Kashmir Division.

He said Srinagar recorded 5.3 cms snow till 0830 while it was snowing. Qazigund, he said, received 10cms, Pahalgam 12cms, Kupwara 21cms, Kokernag 11 cms and Gulmarg 20cms while Banihal and Batote received 11 cms and 0.5 cms respectively.

Regarding minimum temperature, he said, Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.7°C against minus 1.7°C on the previous night and it was normal for the summer capital of J&K for this time of the year.

Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 2.2°C against minus 5.4°C on the previous night, he said. The minimum temperature was 0.1°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, the MeT official said.

Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 3.5°C against minus 8.3°C on the previous night and it was 2.6°C above normal for the famous resort in south Kashmir.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, recorded a minimum of minus 3.0°C against minus 5.4°C on the previous night and the temperature was above normal by 0.6°C for the place, the official said.

Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.9°C against minus 2.4°C on the previous night and it was 0.4°C above normal there, the official said.

Gulmarg, the official said, recorded a low of minus 7.0°C against minus 10.6°C on the previous night and the temperature was above normal by 0.6°C for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir.

Jammu, he said, recorded a minimum of 9.6°C and it was above normal by 1.2°C for the winter capital of J&K.

Banihal recorded a low of minus 0.2°C, Batote minus 0.8°C and Bhaderwah 0.2°C, he said.

Regarding the forecast, the MeT official said that there is possibility of light to moderate snow to continue over many places till afternoon and late afternoon on Sunday and gradual improvement thereafter.

On Monday, he said, partly to generally cloudy weather with possibility of light snow over isolated higher reaches is expected while weather is expected to be dry between February 6-13.

As ‘Chillai-Kalan’, the 40-day harsh period of winter ended on January 29, Kashmir is presently in the middle of 20-day-long winter period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’ that ends on February 19 and is followed by a 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) which starts from February 20 to March 1. (GNS)