Srinagar: Several places in Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Friday while the plains received intermittent rains, officials said here.
The tourist resorts of Gulmarg, Sonamarg, and Pahalgam received fresh overnight snowfall, the officials said.
They said snowfall was also recorded in Anantnag, Zojila Pass, Banihal, Sadhna Pass, and Machil in Kupwara, and Razdan Pass in Bandipora.
The plains of the valley, including Srinagar, were lashed by overnight intermittent rains, they added.
The Meteorological Department said in the past 24 hours, Kashmir experienced light to moderate rain in the plains, and light to moderate snow over the higher reaches with isolated moderate to heavy snowfall.
The MeT Office said while the weather is likely to remain cloudy it will be generally dry from February 21-24. Light to moderate rain or snow is possible at most places, with isolated heavy falls, during February 25-28.
Kashmir has witnessed a mostly dry winter this year with the months of January and February recording a precipitation deficit of around 80 percent.
Traffic resumes on Jmu-Sgr highway after night-long suspension
The traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway resumed Friday morning after remaining suspended overnight following snowfall in the Banihal sector, officials said.
Traffic on the highway was suspended around 7 pm on Thursday due to slippery conditions of the road at several places between Ramsoo and Banihal in Ramban district, leaving over 300 vehicles stranded.
“The traffic on the highway resumed around 7 am Friday and was plying smoothly from both sides,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Traffic, national highway, S P Singh said.
He said the road clearance agency pressed snow-clearance machinery in operation Thursday evening itself and most of the stranded vehicles were subsequently cleared.
With improvement in the weather this morning, the clearance operation was speeded up paving the way for resumption of two-way traffic on the highway, the officer said.
