Snowfall, rains in North keep mercury in check

Northern hills in Kashmir and Uttarakhand got another bout of snowfall and rains while parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi witnessed light showers as temperature remained at moderate level today.
Barring some parts of the national capital which got light showers, sun shone bright at Delhi today leading to a rise in the temperature.
The maximum temperature today settled four notches above the season's average at 29.1 degrees Celsius while the minimum was recorded seven notches above the normal at 18.5 degrees, a MeT department official said.
Humidity in air oscillated between 96 and 58 per cent.
Light to moderate rain alongwith strong winds swept several parts of Punjab and Haryana even as the minimum temperatures in the region today hovered above normal levels.

Besides rains, few places, including Phagwara and Mohali had mild hailstorm, the MeT office said.

Chandigarh got 14.4 mm of rains, Jhajjar 5 mm and Pathankot 15 mm.
However, the minimum temperatures in most parts of Punjab and Haryana hovered between four to nine degrees Celsius above normal levels, the MeT office said.
Chandigarh recorded 13.5 degrees and Amritsar settled at a low of 9.5 degrees.
The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir fell due to fresh snowfall and rains across the Valley, with the MeT department predicting more wet spells in the coming days.
"A fresh western disturbance would affect Jammu and Kashmir from February 23 evening. The wet spells would continue till that and there would be significant increase in precipitation till February 25," a MeT department spokesperson said here.

Srinagar received 25 mm of rainfall in the night and the city recorded a low of 0.4 degree Celsius -- down by nearly four degrees from 4 degrees Celsius the previous night, he said.
In view of the weather prediction, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir has issued an avalanche warning in the avalanche-prone areas of Bandipora, Kupwara and Kargil districts of Kashmir division.
Meanwhile, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has been closed for traffic today and only those vehicles stranded yesterday are being allowed to ply, a Traffic Control Room official here said.