Srinagar: Most of the plain areas in Kashmir experienced the season’s first snowfall on Monday, even as the higher reaches witnessed heavy precipitation, leading to the closure of Srinagar-Leh road which connects the Valley with Ladakh, officials said here.
Meanwhile, MET officials said that the weather in Kashmir is likely to remain dry after 26th November.
They said that the weather in the valley will improve from 26th November but the mercury will take a dip after 27th November.
They further said that the higher reaches are expected to receive light to moderate snowfall while plains will receive a low intensity rainfall till 25th of November.
The MeT office has issued an ‘Orange Colour’ weather warning for the higher reaches of J&K and Sonmarg-Zojila axis on the Srinagar-Leh road, asking the administration and people to be prepared and to maintain vigil.
A MeT official said light to moderate snow with heavy falls at isolated places was reported from many areas of Kashmir, a few places of Jammu and Sonmarg-Drass axis.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded four inches of fresh snowfall during the night, while Pahalgam tourist resort in south Kashmir, recorded 10 cm of snow, the official said.
He said most of the areas in the plains of the Valley also received light snowfall — which is the season’s first.
It was still snowing, especially in the higher reaches, when the last reports came in and the weather system is likely to continue, he said.
This spell is most likely to give good snow/rain in the Pirpanjal area Gulmarg, Ramban-Banihal, Shopian, Poonch-Rajouri and Zojila especially during November 24-25 and decrease thereafter significantly, the official said.
Many areas of the Valley were also lashed by rains, he added.
The fresh snowfall has forced the closure of Srinagar-Leh road as well as Mughal road – the alternate roadway connecting the Valley with the Jammu region, an official of the Traffic Control Room said.
Sgr-Jmu highway closed
Srinagar: The Srinagar-Jammu national highway was closed for traffic on Monday due to fresh snowfall and landslides in Ramban district, officials said.
Over 300 vehicles have been stranded due to the closure of the highway.
The 270-km highway was blocked by a landslide in Ramban district, they said.
Traffic has been halted due to snowfall at Jawahar tunnel, they said, adding men and machinery have been deployed to clear the area.
People are advised to undertake journey on the highway only after confirming the status of the road from traffic control units, a traffic police advisory said.
The fresh snowfall has also forced the closure of Srinagar-Leh road as well as Mughal road – the alternate roadway connecting the Valley with the Jammu region, an official of the Traffic Control Room said.
