Fresh snowfall in Kashmir, U'khand; pleasant weather in plains

Cold weather conditions continued in hilly areas of north India with higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand receiving fresh snowfall and rains today while mercury in the plains hovered at pleasant level.
In the national capital, it was a pleasant day following overnight rain. The city had received 9.8 mm rainfall till 8.30 AM. According to the MeT Department, mostly overcast conditions prevailed during the day.
The maximum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 26 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year and 1.2 notches less than yesterday, while the minimum settled at 14, 1.5 notches more than yesterday's minimum and two notches below the season's average.

Meanwhile, most parts of Kashmir Valley including summer capital Srinagar experienced fresh snowfall. Reports of snowfall were received from the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg and Pahalgam and other places in the higher reaches. Following fresh snowfall, the maximum temperature fell from 9.5 degrees Celsius yesterday to settle at 3.4 degrees Celsius.
The MET department said heavy to very heavy rains or snowfall would occur at scattered places of Jammu and Kashmir regions and at isolated places in Kargil district of Ladakh region over the next 24 hours.
Snowfall also occurred in higher hills of Uttarakhand while low lying areas of the state experienced rains. Fresh spell of snowfall was reported from higher areas including Chamoli, Rudrprayag, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Hemkund Sahib, while areas in the plains including state capital Dehradun received rains.

In the view of the MeT department forecast of rain and snowfall, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary N Ravishankar has asked all district officers to take necessary precautions.

Hailstorm also lashed several parts of Uttar Pradesh including Muzaffarnagar. According to officials, the hailstorm damaged wheat corp in the district.
In Punjab and Haryana, temperatures hovered below normal levels as some areas were lashed by rain. Chandigarh, which received light showers this morning, recorded a minimum temperature of 11.1 degrees Celsius.
Amritsar in Punjab was the coldest place in the two states recording a low of 6.4 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal. Ludhiana registered a minimum of 9.2 degrees.

In Haryana, Hisar recorded a low of 10.4 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, while Ambala's minimum settled at 12.1 degrees Celsius.