White blanket of snow covers Kashmir valley



Srinagar,CNS, 08-Jan; Normal life was thrown out of gear as the Kashmir Valley was hit by fresh snowfall on Saturday, while the plains of Jammu witnessed heavy rains. People were forced to stay indoors without electricity as road links were snapped at many places. Meanwhile, flight operations at the Srinagar airport were disrupted due to heavy snowfall and poor visibility. 
A white blanket covered Kashmir as all parts of the valley received moderate to heavy snowfall, leading to the closure of roads. Snowfall began late on Friday night in most parts of Kashmir and just after midnight in Srinagar city. While two to three inches of snow had accumulated in Srinagar by daybreak, the hilly areas of the valley received snowfall between one feet to two feet. 

On Saturday afternoon, all incoming and outgoing flights to Srinagar airport were cancelled due to poor visibility. Srinagar-Leh National Highway and Mughal Road were reportedly closed for traffic due to landslides triggered by the snowfall.

The weatherman has forecast more snowfall in next few hours and has issued an orange color weather warning. 

The summer capital of J&K, recorded a low of 0.2°C against previous night’s 2.6°C. It was 2.1°C above normal for this time of the year in Srinagar, he said.

Gulmarg, had 32 cms (13 inches) of fresh snowfall during the time and recorded a low of minus 4.6°C against minus 5.5°C on the previous night at the world famous resort, he said.

Qazigund received 20cms of snow during the time while as the gateway town of Kashmir recorded a low of 0.0°C against 0.4°C on the previous night, he said.

Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir had 6.4cms of fresh snowfall and recorded a low of minus 0.2°C against minus 0.4°C on previous night, he said.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, had 9 cms of snow and recorded a low of minus 0.9°C against minus 0.2°C on previous night, the official said.

Kupwara town in north Kashmir, had 6.4cms of fresh snowfall and recorded a minimum of 0.0°C against 0.8°C as on the previous night, the official said.

Jammu had 83.5mm rain and recorded a low of 10.6 °C, down few notches from the previous night’s 11.1°C and normal of 7.3°C for the J&K’s winter capital during this time of the year, he said.

Banihal had 31.4cms of snowfall and recorded a low of minus 0.2°C while Batote and Bhaderwah received 3 cms and 10 cms of snowfall respectively, the official said. 

Ladakh’s Leh recorded a low of minus 9.7°C against last night’s 1.5°C, the official said. 

District Kulgam said that Aharbal received 2.5ft snowfall, Dandward: 2.5ft , Khull: 2.5ft, D.H. Pora: 2.41 ft
Nandimarg: 3 ft and Waltengoo Nard: 2ft. 

“Expect gradual decrease in rain/snow intensity from this evening (January 8). There will be significant Improvement in weather from January 9 onwards in J&K,” the official said. 

Earlier the weatherman had issued Orange warning for January 8th. There are four types of colour codes signifying the level of caution: green which means no action, yellow—situation to be watched), orange–government agencies need to be prepared for severe weather and red –action needed by the agencies.

The MeT Official said the weather system may affect surface and air transportation, mainly on Saturday. “It may cause avalanche/landslide in vulnerable spots.”

The MeT office has urged people not to venture in avalanche prone areas, follow traffic advisory seriously as well as maintain proper ventilation of their rooms.

Kashmir is presently under the grip of 40-day long harshest period of winter, known locally as ‘Chillai Kalan, which started from December 21. It is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai Khurd’ and a 10-day-long ‘Chilla Bachha’.(CNS) PHOTOS BY SHAH JAHANGIR