Srinagar: Weather improved on Sunday after three days of moderate to heavy rains that lashed plains and snow over a few places, including the ski resort of Gulmarg in Kashmir.
The inclement weather cut off the valley by surface transport with the rest of the country following the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway and the Srinagar-Leh road.
“Jammu-Srinagar NHW is still blocked. People are advised to avoid journeys on NH-44 till the road is clear,” traffic police posted on X Sunday.
The Meteorological Centre Srinagar said that the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district received 35cm of snowfall and 44 cm of rainfall during the past 24 hours till 0830 hours on Sunday.
Srinagar and other plains of the Kashmir Valley experienced moderate to heavy rains, resulting in the inundation of several low-lying areas.
Srinagar received 38.9mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours till 0830 hours on Sunday, while Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in south Kashmir received 81.0mm, Pahalgam 39.5mm and 1.0cm of snowfall, Kupwara 445mm of rainfall and 9.0cm of snowfall, and 38.1mm of rainfall during the period, the MeT office said.
It said that there is a possibility of light rain or snow over scattered places during the intervening nights of March 6 and 7, but there is no significant weather activity till March 10 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the night temperature witnessed a drop at most of the stations and stayed below normal in Kashmir Valley on Sunday.
The MeT office said that the minimum during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday in Srinagar was recorded at -0.6°C, and it was 2.8°C below the normal of 2.2°C on Sunday. The sun appeared in Srinagar after several days of wet weather on Sunday.
Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway had a low of 2.0°C, and Kokernag in south Kashmir settled at -2.4°C.
The minimum temperature at Gulmarg slipped down. 10.6°C, and it was 6.1°C below normal of -4.5°C on Sunday.
The mercury at the tourist resort of Pahalgam was recorded at -2.4°C, and Kupwara had a low of -1.3°C on Sunday, the MeT office said.
UNI
