Upper reaches witness fresh snowfall, plains lashed by rains in Kashmir

Srinagar, Oct 17: Upper catchment areas of Kashmir valley witnessed snowfall while the plains were lashed by rains since midnight Sunday unleashing wintry condition in the region.

The wintry conditions prevailed in the Kashmir valley where intermittent rains lashed since midnight causing considerable drop in the temperature.

People mostly prefered to remain indoors due to the wet weather and wintry conditions around. Many people were seen wearing warm jackets to escape the cold in Srinagar where the minimum temperature settled at 11.3 degree Celsius a few notches below the normal.

The vendors had put their stalls in the traditional Sunday Market all along the road from the Poloview to Lalchowk, but due to intermittent rains fewer customers were seen purchasing warm clothes.

Meteorological centre in Srinagar has forecast of light to moderate rain and snow over the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir to continue till Monday afternoon. It said Overall improvement in the weather will be from October 19 onwards. There will be no major snowfall or rain in the region for next week, the MeT office added.

A report from ski resort of Gulmarg said the sky was overcast and light rainfall of 7.8 mm was recorded in the morning of Sunday. The minimum temperature remains at 5.0 Celsius.

Official sources said upper reaches of picturesque Sonamarg, Pahalgam , Yousmarg and Pir Panjal Range of mountains witnessed light snowfall, while plains were lashed by intermittent rains.

The MeT official said Srinagar received rainfall of 2.4 mm while minimum, Qazigund, 2.3 mm. Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir recorded a low of 7.6°C, he said, and added Kupwara the frontier north Kashmir district received 2.4 mm of rain till 0830 hours Sunday morning.