After reeling under a cold wave that caused record-breaking temperatures, there is a possibility that the Valley might witness a 3-day wet spell from January 22.
Director MeT, Sonam Lotus said mainly dry weather is expected till January 21 in J&K. However, he said a Western Disturbance is likely to affect J&K during January 22 to 24. “This may cause moderate rainfall/snow,” Lotus said adding that this “forecast will be updated on Saturday evening.”
The Valley received a heavy snowfall during January 3 and 6, which caused a lot of damage to property and snapped both surface and road transport with the outside world for many days.
Temperatures: As the Valley reels under a severe cold wave, the summer capital Srinagar recorded minus 7.6 degrees Celsius on Thursday night. The free fall of the mercury has lead to partial freezing of the Dal Lake and several other water bodies. Freezing of supply lines has also caused huge inconvenience to people causing shortage of water.
The minimum temperatures continued far below than the normal in other parts of the valley, settling at minus 8.6 degrees in Pahalgam. Qazigund recorded a low of minus 8.3 degrees while Kokernag recorded a low of minus 8.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday night.
Skiing resort Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 5.7 degrees on Thursday night, the MeT data said. Kashmir is in the middle Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day winter period which commenced on December 21 and ends on January 30. The period is considered the harshest of the winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum.
Fog: A thick layer of fog engulfed many areas in the Valley Friday morning, including Srinagar causing traffic disruptions. Director Srinagar Airport, Santosh Dhoke said there were some delays in the morning flights due to the fog. “The fog did not last for long and soon normal flight operations resumed. But there was a delay for some time during the morning,” Dhoke said.