Light snowfall in higher reaches of Kashmir

The higher reaches of Kashmir received light snowfall while plains received intermittent rains even as the minimum temperature went down slightly at some places in the Valley.
Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir, received fresh snowfall during the night, an official of the Meteorological department here said, adding around nine inches of snow was recorded in the resort in the last 24 hours.
He said the minimum temperature at the ski-resort, which is the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, went down over three notches from the previous night's low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius to settle at minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.

The official said for the second consecutive day today, the mercury in all the recorded places in the Valley, except Gulmarg, settled above the freezing point.
He said there were reports of fresh snowfall in many other areas in the higher reaches of the Valley of which the department does not keep any records.
Most of the areas in the plains of the Valley received intermittent rains overnight with the north Kashmir town of Kupwara recording rainfall of 12.3 mm, he said.

The mercury there settled at a low of 0.6 degree Celsius, the official said.
He said the mercury in Srinagar - the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir - decreased by over a degree from the previous night's 3.1 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of 1.8 degree Celsius.

The city recorded 4.2 mm of rainfall during the night.
The night temperature in the hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir went down by a degree to settle at a low of 0.3 degree Celsius from the previous night's 1.3 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said the resort recorded 8 mm of rainfall. The night temperature in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, remained same at 2.6 degrees Celsius, he said, adding it recorded 6.2 mm of rains.
Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, registered a low of 1.3 degrees Celsius and recorded 4.4 mm of rainfall, the official said.

The night temperature in Leh, in Ladakh region, went down from the previous night's low of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius to settle at a low of minus 7.3 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said the data for the nearby Kargil town was not available.
The official said there is possibility of scattered rains in the plains of the Valley and light snow in the higher reaches today.
He said the weather is likely to improve from tomorrow and is expected to remain mainly dry over the week ahead.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of Chillai-Kalan - the 40-day harshest winter period.

Chillai-Kalan, which began on December 21 and ends tomorrow, is the period of winter when the chances of snowfall are usually most frequent and maximum.
The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai Bachha' (baby cold).