Srinagar, Dec 28: While the plains in Kashmir received light rainfall, heavy snowfall was Friday recorded in the upper reaches including the world-famous tourist resort of Gulmarg.
 Kargil, Drass, Gurez and various other places along the Line of Control (LoC) also received fresh snow.
 Fresh snowfall of 7 to 8 inches was recorded at the tourist resort of Gulmarg bringing cheer to the tourists and locals.  All hotels at Gulmarg were booked to the capacity for the New Year's celebrations.
 "Today's snowfall will definitely add to the New Year festivities. A white blanket of thick snow has transformed Gulmarg into a picture postcard town," a hotelier at Gulmarg said.
 According to an official spokesman, snow clearance operation on Gulmarg-Tangmarg road was started in the night by the Mechanical Engineering Department.
 The spokesman said that Tangmarg recorded 3 to 5 inches of fresh snow, Sonamarg recorded 15 inches, Rafiabad 5 to 9 inches, Sheeri 4 to 7 inches, Kupwara 2 to 3 inches, Handwara 2 to 3, Kralpora 5 to 7 inches while Gurez experienced fresh snowfall of 20 to 24 inches.
 Reports said south Kashmir’s tourist resort Pahalgam also received light snowfall.
 Local Meteorological Department head Sonum Lotus said that more precipitation was expected in the region till Saturday afternoon.  "Weather will improve from Saturday afternoon. We will have a gradual increase in day temperature and slight fall in night temperature from tomorrow onwards," he added.
 The minimum temperature in Srinagar was 1.2 degrees Celsius, while it was a fraction below the freezing point at -0.2 degree in Pahalgam, a good minus 4.4 in Gulmarg, minus 9.6 in Kargil and -8.6 in Leh towns.  At the Gulmarg ski resort in north Kashmir all hotels were booked to the capacity for the New Year's celebrations.
 "Today's snowfall will definitely add to the New Year festivities. A white blanket of thick snow has transformed Gulmarg into a picture postcard town," a hotelier at Gulmarg said.
 According to officials, Srinagar-Jammu highway was open for one way traffic while15 flights operated normally with no cancellations.
 Meanwhile, according to reports, Kupwara-Karnah and Kupwara-Keran roads have been closed due to heavy snow fall as around 3 to 4 feet snow was recorded at Sadna and Pharkian Tops.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 28 Dec 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:00:00 IST