WDs hit J&K, temp drops at most places across UT

A view of season’s first snowfall in Leh town on Tuesday. (UNI)
A view of season’s first snowfall in Leh town on Tuesday. (UNI)

Kashmir witnesses foggy weather

Fayaz Bukhari/Gopal Sharma

SRINAGAR/JAMMU, Nov 28: A drop in temperature in most places across J&K was experienced today after the Western Disturbances (WDs) hit many parts of UT, causing light rain and snowfall on the higher reaches across Jammu and Kashmir besides parts of Ladakh including Leh city.
Official sources said that temperature in most parts of the Kashmir valley remained above two degrees Celsius for the second day on Tuesday due to the impact of Western Disturbances. The improvement in the temperature has brought relief to people in the region, which otherwise was in the grip of intense cold. Thick fog was reported from several parts of Valley today.
A MeT official said that there is a possibility of light to moderate snowfall in the higher reaches over the next three days.
The ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the only weather station in the Valley where the minimum temperature settled below the freezing point at minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in the night, he said.
However, the temperature was a degree up from the previous night, the official said.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a minimum of 3.9 degrees Celsius temperature while in Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley in south Kashmir, it was 3.8 degrees Celsius.
Kokernag town registered a low of 2.8 degrees Celsius temperature. The tourist destination of Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district recorded a low of 1.2 degrees Celsius, while it was 3 degrees Celsius in Kupwara town in north Kashmir.
The weather is generally cloudy at most places of Jammu and Kashmir and it will likely remain such with light rain or snow at isolated places during next 24 hours, the official said.
He said Jammu and Kashmir is set to be impacted by another Western Disturbance from Tuesday, bringing light to moderate rain or snow across the Union Territory. From Wednesday, there are chances of light to moderate rain or snow at fairly widespread places with the possibility of thunderstorms or lightning at a few places over the next three days, he added.
While snowfall in the plains is unlikely, even if it does occur, the accumulation is expected to be minimal, official said.
The winter capital City (Jammu), recorded a minimum temperature of 11.1 degrees Celsius as compared to 13.5 deg C yesterday. A further drop in the temperature ranging from 2 to 3 degrees has been witnessed at Kathua, Katra Mata Vaishnodevi, Udhampur, Bhaderwah, Batote and Banihal today.
The weather remained almost cloudy during the day in Jammu and its surrounding areas while there was light rain in Doda, Reasi, Kishtwar, Udhampur and Ramban. Higher reaches of these districts experienced light snowfall today. The MeT has predicted partially cloudy sky in Jammu region during next 24 hours.
Leh town witnessed first light snowfall of the season. The town recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.4 degrees Celsius.