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Kashmir wakes up to blanket of snow
While the tourist resorts of Sonmarg and Gulmarg recorded 10 to 12 inches of fresh snow, Srinagar received light snow. Residents in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir woke up to find the Valley donning a white mantle on Friday after overnight snowfall.
Residents in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir woke up to find the Valley donning a white mantle on Friday after overnight snowfall.
While the tourist resorts of Sonmarg and Gulmarg recorded 10 to 12 inches of fresh snow, Srinagar received light snow. Omair Ahmad, a Srinagar resident, said, “We had hoped for heavy snowfall. However, it stopped snowing after some time. It seems the city will have to wait longer for a good spell of snow.”
Baramulla, Sopore and Kupwara towns have recorded four to six inches of snow since Thursday evening. Srinagar-Leh national highway and historical Mughal Road have been closed to vehicular traffic.
Over the last 24 hours, rain and snow were recorded in Srinagar (4.6 mm), Pahalgam (15.3 mm), Kupwara (35.4 mm), Kokernag (8.1 mm), Gulmarg ( 21.9 mm) and Jammu (9.4 mm). Zojila (Ladakh) 600 mm, Drass: 150mm and Kargil 70mm.
Snow clearance ops begin at midnight
In many rural townships snow clearance operations were initiated at midnight. A police spokesperson said that stranded tourists were rescued in many areas. “Cops in Budgam rescued 52 stranded tourists at Parihaas Doodhpathri, whose vehicle were stranded after the sudden snowfall. Tourists were also rescued from Yousmarg, Khag areas,” the spokesperson said, adding that tourists on their way to Gulmarg were also taken to safer places.
The meteorological department (MeT) said that night temperature in Pahalgam dropped to -4.9°C, Srinagar recorded a low of -0.3°C, and Gulmarg was the coldest at -5.5°C on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. The MeT office in Srinagar has predicted that the weather will improve in the evening. Kargil and adjoining areas also received snowfall .
The diaster management has issued “low danger” avalanche warnings and said that avalanches are likely to take place above 2,500 metres in Bandipore, Baramula, Doda, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Ramban, and Kargil over the next 24 hours. People have been asked to avoid venturing to higher reaches.
