Kashmir received abundant rainfall on Friday, the highest in April in the past two years, belying once again meteorological department’s forecast that the first three weeks of April would be dry.
Kashmir received rain during the past five days also but Friday’s was the heaviest. This will bring some relief to the problems caused by the dry spell that depleted even groundwater levels and prompted agriculture and irrigation authorities to ask farmers not to grow paddy this year in northern and central areas of Kashmir.
According to Met officials, Srinagar received 4.7mm, Qazigund 12.4mm, Pahalgam 19.5 mm, Kupwara 23.5mm, Kokernag 20.2mm, and Gulmarg 14.8mm rain by Friday evening.
Gulmarg received snowfall late last night and it continued to snow intermittently till early Friday.
Authorities are yet to assess the damage done to orchards, residential and other properties by gusty winds and rain across Kashmir. Orchards and houses were damaged in a few areas of Anantnag district. Traffic on inundated Ranipora-Mattan and Achabal-Kokernag roads was disrupted.by
The fresh rains and snowfall have plunged day temperatures by several degrees while night temperature also dipped at majority of the places but remained above normal. Several roads in Srinagar were waterlogged.
“There will be significant improvement in weather from Saturday afternoon,” director Met department Sonam Lotus told Greater Kashmir.
“Thundershowers would occur at some places during the next 24 hours in Kashmir,” he said.
HIGHWAY CLOSED:
Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only surface between Kashmir and the rest of the world has been closed for traffic as a precautionary measure because of shooting stones at some places, senior superintendent of police (traffic, rural) Muzaffar Ahmad Shah said.
He said Leh-Srinagar, Tangdhar, Keran, Machil and Mughal roads have also been closed as a precautionary measure.