Fresh snow in higher reaches, MeT forecasts wet weather in Kashmir

Some places in the higher reaches of Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Saturday, with the MeT office forecasting a spell of wet weather in the Valley amid an increase in the minimum temperature, officials said.

The tourist resort town of Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district and the upper areas of Gulmarg received light snow, the officials said.

They said there were reports of light snowfall at some other areas in the higher reaches, including Zojila, and Sadhna Top in Kupwara. Some places in the Valley also received light rainfall.

Owing to the cloud cover, the minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir, including Srinagar — which had experienced the coldest night of the season on Friday — settled above freezing point, the officials said.

The city recorded a low of 2.5 degrees Celsius, rising from minus 1.2 degrees on Friday. Qazigund recorded a low of 0.8 degrees Celsius while Pahalgam registered 3.2 degrees. Gulmarg, a tourist destination famous for skiing, recorded a low of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius while Kupwara registered 2.1 degrees. In Kokernag in south Kashmir, the night temperature settled at 2.4 degrees Celsius.

On Sunday, there is a possibility of light rain or snow at isolated places in the higher reaches while the weather will remain mainly dry afterwards till the end of the month, it added.

While there are chances of light rain or snow at scattered to fairly widespread places in the higher reaches on December 1, the weather is likely to stay dry during December 2-5, it said.