In what has come a visual treat for the tourists, fresh snowfall blanketed several areas in the higher reaches of Kashmir with the Meteorological department forecasting light to moderate precipitation at most places over the next 24 hours.
Owing to a cloud cover, the night temperatures remained higher than the seasonal average and settled above the freezing point at most places, the officials said. Fresh snowfall across the Gurez sector of north Kashmir has led to the closure of the Bandipora to Gurez road after heavy accumulation of snow at Razdhan Pass.
However, despite the fresh snow, the valley continues to experience an unusually warm winter, with temperatures remaining three to seven degrees above the seasonal average, the MeT officials said.They said parts of North Kashmir, including Gurez in Bandipora, Gulmarg in Baramulla and Macchil in Kupwara, experienced fresh snowfall, with reports of light to moderate snowfall in higher reaches as well.A few higher reaches/extreme higher reaches of north and central Kashmir may receive moderate to heavy snowfall, it added.
There is a possibility of a brief spell of light rain/snow over isolated places on Friday as well, it said.On Tuesday night, Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.3 degrees Celsius, which is 4.9 degrees Celsius above the normal for this time of year, they said. Gulmarg remained the coldest location in the region with the mercury settling at minus 3.0 degrees Celsius, officials said.The night temperature remained almost three degrees above the usual temperature.
In south Kashmir, Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius — seven degrees above the normal temperature, and Qazigund, the gateway town of the valley, saw the mercury settle at 1.4 degrees Celsius.On January 2, the weather is expected to remain partly to generally cloudy, with the possibility of brief spells of light rain or snowfall at isolated places, the department said.
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