• Razdan Pass receives six inches of snow
• Mughal Road and Srinagar-Leh Highway closed
• MeT warns of 6-8°C fall in day temperatures, more precipitation likely
• Temperatures Set To Drop By 6-8°C
Neelofar Shakeel
Srinagar| Nov,12: Fresh snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir on Thursday disrupted road connectivity across several mountainous areas, forcing the closure of key routes, including the Bandipora-Gurez Road, Mughal Road and Srinagar-Leh Highway, as winter conditions intensified across the Valley.
The season’s first significant snowfall at several high-altitude locations, coupled with widespread rainfall in the plains, brought a sharp change in weather conditions, prompting authorities to step up snow-clearance operations and issue travel advisories.
Razdan Pass in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district recorded around six inches of fresh snow, while approximately two inches accumulated at Peer Ki Gali along the Mughal Road. The plains of Dawar in Gurez Valley also witnessed the season’s first snowfall.
Fresh snow was reported from Margan Pass, Sonamarg, Gulmarg, Zojila Pass, Drass, Machil Valley and Jumagund in Kupwara district, with snowfall continuing in several higher reaches.
The accumulation of snow and slippery road conditions forced authorities to suspend traffic on the Bandipora-Gurez road, cutting off road connectivity to the Gurez Valley. The Border Roads Organisation’s 56 RCC launched snow-clearance operations at Razdan Pass to restore the strategic route.
The Mughal Road, which connects the Kashmir Valley with the PirPanjal region of Jammu division, and the Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri Road, providing connectivity towards Ladakh through Zojila Pass, also remained closed following fresh snowfall.
The closures affected movement across some of the region’s important mountain corridors, with authorities advising commuters, transporters and tourists to avoid travelling on these routes until clearance operations are completed and fresh traffic advisories are issued.
The weather disturbance also brought rainfall to several parts of the Kashmir plains, including areas of north and central Kashmir, intensifying the prevailing chill.
The Meteorological Centre Srinagar has forecast generally cloudy conditions on November 13, with light to moderate rain and snowfall over higher reaches at most places. Moderate to heavy rain and snowfall over higher elevations is also likely at several places till late afternoon.
A brief spell of light rain and snowfall at isolated places is expected on November 14 and 15, while weather conditions are likely to remain generally dry from November 16 to 20.
The department has warned of a significant fall of 6-8 degrees Celsius in maximum day temperatures during November 12 and 13. Thunderstorms, hailstorms and gusty winds are also possible at a few places during the period.
The advisory assumes significance for people travelling through mountain passes and high-altitude roads, where fresh snow accumulation could further affect connectivity.
Farmers have been advised to safely store harvested crops during November 12-13, while travellers, transporters and tourists have been asked to plan their journeys in accordance with official weather and traffic advisories.
The changing weather conditions were reflected in temperatures recorded across the Valley, with Gulmarg registering a sub-zero minimum of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest among the listed weather stations in Kashmir division.
According to the Meteorological Centre’s latest bulletin, Srinagar recorded a maximum temperature of 17.3 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 5.6 degrees Celsius.
Qazigund registered a maximum of 16.7 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 5.8 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam recorded 14.5 degrees Celsius as the maximum and 2.7 degrees Celsius as the minimum.
Kupwara recorded 17.3 degrees Celsius and 3.7 degrees Celsius, respectively, while Kokernag registered a maximum of 15 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 6.4 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg recorded a maximum temperature of 9.9 degrees Celsius. Among the automatic weather stations, Bandipora registered 19.9 degrees Celsius as the maximum and 6.1 degrees Celsius as the minimum, while Baramulla recorded 18.1 and 6.4 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Shopian recorded 16.8 degrees Celsius and 2.2 degrees Celsius, while Sonamarg registered 11.9 degrees Celsius and 2.6 degrees Celsius. Gulmarg AWS recorded the highest precipitation of 7.5 mm, according to the bulletin.
In Jammu division, Jammu city recorded a maximum temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 15.3 degrees Celsius, reflecting the contrasting weather conditions across the two divisions.
Meanwhile, the Mechanical and Hospital Engineering Department (MHED), Division Anantnag, conducted mock drills of snow-clearance machinery across Tehsil Kokernag to assess preparedness ahead of the forecast wet spell.
