Chillai Kalan, which starts on December 21 every year, had made an anti-climatic entry this time with clear, sunny sky instead of the expected snowfall.
During these 40 days chances of snowfall are maximum and temperatures drop several degrees below freezing point.
It is a period of extreme cold followed by a 20-day long Chillai Khurd (small cold) and a 10-day spell of Chillai Bachh (baby cold).
The night temperatures in most of the parts of the valley increased slightly giving the residents some relief from the cold conditions.
The MeT department said there will be no remarkable change in the weather in the coming few days.
The minimum night temperature in summer capital Srinagar remained unchanged from the previous night at -1.6 degrees Celsius while the mercury rose slightly in the hill resort of Pahalgam to settle at -6.7 degrees Celsius from -7.1 degrees Celsius the night before.
The ski resort of Gulmarg, which shivered at a low of -6.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, recorded -4.6 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in the highway town of Qazigund in south Kashmir was up a degree and settled at -3.6 degrees Celsius from yesterday's - 4.6 degrees Celsius. ]
In north Kashmir's Kupwara town, the minimum increased to -1.8 degrees Celsius from -2.6 degrees the night before.
The Leh town in the cold desert of Ladakh continues to be the coldest place in the state, registering a low of minus 15.8 degree Celsius.
The night temperature in Kargil, also in the frontier region of Ladakh, settled at a low of minus 12.4 degrees Celsius.
