Heavy snowfall in Valley as rain lashes Jammu
TNN Bureau. Updated: 2/13/2018 1:39:58 AM
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JAMMU: Moderate to heavy snowfall started in the valley as rain lashed the plains on Monday breaking the nearly two-month long dry spell in Jammu and Kashmir.The snow and rain is likely to continue till Tuesday, the weather office said.
The snowfall, however, snapped Kashmir's links with the rest of the country as the arterial Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed due to the accumulation of snow around Jawahar Tunnel in the Qazigund area.
"Due to slippery road conditions and fresh snowfall at the Jawahar tunnel and other areas, the highway has been closed," a senior traffic department official said.
The traffic authorities have stopped vehicular movement at the Nagrota check post in Jammu and Qazigun.
The snowfall also led to poor visibility at the Srinagar airport, disrupting the air traffic.
"Current visibility is 600 metres and the runway is not available up to 10.30 am due snowfall. The situation will be reviewed after that," an official of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) here said.
This is the first major snowfall in Kashmir this winter, which was largely dry so far.
There was some snowfall in early December last year and since then the weather has been mostly dry.
People throughout the Kashmir Valley greeted the snowfall that will replenish the perennial water reservoirs in the mountains. These reservoirs sustain various rivers, streams, springs and lakes during the summer months.
Authorities have set up helpline numbers for people to approach in case of emergencies in different districts of the valley.
The minimum temperatures have also appreciably improved throughout the state due to a cloud cover.
The minimum temperature was zero in Srinagar while it was minus 0.1 in Pahalgam and minus 4.6 in Gulmarg.
Kargil town at minus 14 was the coldest, followed by Leh at minus 11.3 degrees Celsius.
Jammu city recorded 10.5, Katra 7.6, Batote 1.3, Bannihal 0.2, Bhaderwah 0.4 and Udhampur 8.8 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperatures of the day.