Fresh snowfall in Kashmir

Higher reaches of Kashmir on Thursday experienced fresh snowfall while rains lashed the plains even as minimum temperatures in most parts of the Valley stayed slightly above the freezing point. Fresh snowfall was witnessed in places like Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Peer Ki Gali in Shopian and Amarnath Cave, while most of the plains in the Valley received rains, a Meteorological Department official said. There was possibility of more rains in the plains and snowfall in the higher reaches of the Valley over the next two days. The snowfall led to closure of Mughal Road an alternate road-link connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, officials of the Traffic Department said. However, Srinagar-Jammu national highway was open for traffic, they said. The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded 3.2 mm of snow during the night, the MET official said. The official said the minimum temperature was minus 3.0 degrees Celsius as against minus 2.6 degrees Celsius the previous night and was the only place in the Valley to register sub-zero temperature. Kokernag, in south Kashmir, also witnessed a drop in the night temperature as the town recorded a low of 1.9 degrees Celsius compared to 2.6 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said. He said the mercury in Pahalgam which serves as a base-camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra settled at a low of 1.3 degrees Celsius. The official said all the other places in the Valley experienced an increase in the night temperature with Qazigund the gateway town to the Valley - registering a rise of about five degrees from the low of 1.8 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle at the minimum of 6.5 degrees Celsius. Srinagar the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir recorded a low of 2.8 degrees Celsius an increase of one degree from 1.8 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said. He said the mercury in Kupwara town in north Kashmir settled at a low of 1.5 degrees Celsius, an increase of over a degree from 0.3 degree Celsius. Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, was the coldest recorded place in the state with the minimum of minus 6.7 degrees Celsius dropping over a notch from minus 5.0 degrees Celsius the previous night. The nearby Kargil town experienced a drop on two degrees in the night temperature as it recorded a low of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius compared to minus 3.6 degrees Celsius the previous night, the official said.