After rains and snow intermittently lashing Kashmir for the past six days, the weather improved in the valley on Saturday. However, the meteorological (MeT) department has predicted another wet spell here for the next two days.
“Since (Saturday) morning, we witnessed mostly dry weather, but there are chances of light rain at isolated places during the night,” a MeT official here said, adding, “There will be moderate precipitation at some places for the next two days.”
Due to the overcast skies, the maximum day temperature has plunged while the night temperature has been hovering around normal.
“On Friday, the day temperature in Srinagar dropped 10 degrees to settle at 4.6°C as against a normal of 14.7°C,” he said.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday was 3.8°C, while Pahalgam and Gulmarg recorded minimum night temperatures of -0.7°C and -2.6°C, respectively.
On Friday, the higher reaches of Kashmir had received fresh snowfall while rain lashed other parts of the valley as the weather conditions remained erratic.
Qazigund in south Kashmir recorded a maximum of 30.8mm rainfall in 24 hours ending Saturday morning while there was 6.5cm snowfall in Pahalgam in south Kashmir, and 2cm snow was recorded in the northern district of Kupwara.
{{/usCountry}}Qazigund in south Kashmir recorded a maximum of 30.8mm rainfall in 24 hours ending Saturday morning while there was 6.5cm snowfall in Pahalgam in south Kashmir, and 2cm snow was recorded in the northern district of Kupwara.
{{/usCountry}}The Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which was closed for traffic on Friday, remained shut on Saturday too.
The officials said the road was hit by landslides at Ramban.
“The work to clear the road is going on. It is yet to be decided whether the road will be opened tomorrow or not. There is a prediction of more rainfall on Sunday,” said an official of the traffic control room.
Meteorological department director Sonam Lotus has predicated erratic weather till March 15. “We expect a significant decrease in rain from March 12, but the weather is likely to remain erratic till March 15,” he said while warning about the possibility of landslides and avalanches at vulnerable spots as the land is fully saturated.