Relief from cold in Valley; fresh snowfall in higher reaches

Fresh snowfall occurred in the higher reaches of Kashmir, including in the tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam, while the mercury stayed above freezing point at most places even as the Valley today marks the end of 'Chillai-Kalan', the 40-day harshest phase of the cold.
Many areas in the plains of the Valley, including summer capital Srinagar, experienced intermittent rain, the MeT department said adding, however, that the forecast for the week ahead is mainly dry weather.
Around one foot of snowfall was recorded in the famous north Kashmir ski resort of Gulmarg since yesterday, a weather official said.
The minimum temperature at the ski resort, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, went slightly up -- from the previous night's minus 6.5 degrees Celsius to minus 6 degrees.

The hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, received 2 cm of snowfall and the mercury there plunged from 0.3 degrees the previous night to settle at a low of minus 2.3 degrees.
There were reports of fresh snowfall in many other areas in the higher reaches of the Valley even though there was relief from the cold in several areas as the mercury stayed above freezing point.

Many places in the plains of the Valley, including Srinagar, experienced intermittent rainfall even as the mercury settled above the freezing point across Kashmir, except at Gulmarg and Pahalgam.

Srinagar recorded a low of 2.8 degrees -- an increase by a notch from the previous night's 1.8 degrees Celsius -- while the night temperature in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, dropped from 2.6 degrees to settle at 1.8 degrees.
The north Kashmir town of Kupwara recorded a low of 0.3 degrees Celsius, the official said, adding that Kokernag in south Kashmir saw the mercury settle at 0.9 degrees.
The night temperature in Leh in Ladakh region went down four notches from the previous night's minus 7.3 degrees Celsius to settle at minus 11.3 degrees, the official said. The data for the nearby Kargil town was not available, he said.

The official said that the weather is likely to remain mainly dry over the week ahead.
'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest period of winter, had begun on December 21 and ends today. It is the period of winter when the chance of snowfall is maximum.
The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long 'Chillai- Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day long 'Chillai Bachha' (baby cold).