| Heavy rain, snow continue in Kashmir; weather to improve from today | | |  Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Mar 24: World famous ski resort of Gulmarg and other upper reaches received moderate to heavy snow for the third successive day on Wednesday while incessant rain lashed plains in Kashmir valley, where the weather is expected to improve from Thursday onwards.
Meanwhile, the maximum and minimum temperatures dipped across the valley, where life was thrown out of gear due to waterlogged streets, badly effecting pedestrian and vehicular movement.
A Met department spokesperson said that moderate rain and snow would continue at most places during the next 24 in Kashmir valley under the influence of a Western Disturbance (WD), which is active in the region. "The weather is expected to improve from Thursday onwards," he said.
After witnessing below normal night temperature, people woke up to a rainy and chilly Wednesday morning in the summer capital, Srinagar, where life was thrown out of gear due to waterlogging of roads following incessant rain since Monday. Pedestrian and vehicular movement was badly affected as most of the roads in the city were waterlogged.
The maximum temperature in the city also dipped further and settled several degrees below normal, forcing people to once again wear sweaters and jackets, besides using other heating gadgets to keep themselves warm. But, the mercury during the night remained constant since Tuesday at 4.6 degree, which is slightly below normal.
He said skies will be partly cloudy during the next 24 hours in Srinagar, where the maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to settle at 15 degree and 4 degree, respectively.
Much to the delight of tourists, Gulmarg continued to receive light to moderate snowfall for the third successive day. Kongdori and Apharwat, the highest point of the cable car project in Gulmarg, also received moderate snowfall. The ski resort was the only place in the valley where the night temperature settled below freezing point. Against the minus 0.9 degree recorded on Tuesday, the mercury dipped and settled at minus 2.5 degree, which is a degree below normal. "It was still snowing in the ski resort though tourists were out on ski slopes enjoying different activities," a hotelier said over the phone.
He said the ski resort, which is about 55 km from here in north Kashmir, witnessed a huge influx of tourists this winter season after zero business during the last two years. "Most of the hotels are booked to April end in Gulmarg," he added. Dozens of far-flung and remote villages -- including border towns of Keran, Karnah, Machil and Tangdhar -- remained cutoff for the third successive day on Wednesday due to slippery road conditions in north Kashmir following heavy snowfall. Sadhna top, Phirkiyan pass and Z Gali received about 2.5 to 3 feet of fresh snowfall each since Monday morning. Tourist resort of Sonamarg on Srinagar-Leh highway received light to moderate snowfall since Monday morning. World famous health resort of Pahalgam, about 100 km from here in south Kashmir, continued to receive intermittent moderate to heavy rain since early Monday morning, resulting in dip in the maximum and minimum temperatures. The night temperature in the health resort dipped about 3 degree from Tuesday and settled 0.3 degrees, which is normal. However, the upper reaches in Pahalgam, including Chandanwari, received light to moderate snowfall. Traffic on Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, remained suspended for the second consecutive day on Wednesday due to land and mudslides and shooting stones, triggered by rain. |
|
