Few places in the higher reaches of Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Monday, while the plains were lashed by rains even as the meteorological office said the weather is likely to deteriorate further over the next 24 to 36 hours. Light to moderate snow, with isolated heavy snowfall, were reported from a few places in Kashmir including the Zojila axis on Srinagar-Leh road, officials said. They said most places in the plains of the valley received intermittent rainfall which continued till the evening. The Met office has issued an ”orange colour” weather warning for the hilly areas of J&K and Ladakh and said the weather is most likely to deteriorate further during the next 24-36 hours in both Union territories. Widespread snow/rain in the plains of Jammu is most likely during this period, it said, adding that there is a possibility of heavy snow at isolated places in the higher reaches of J&K and Ladakh. The weather system is most likely to disrupt surface vehicular traffic especially on Zojila, Mughal Road, Banihal-Ramban axis on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway and other such vulnerable spots, the officials said. Meanwhile, the famous ski resort of Gulmarg was the only place in the Kashmir valley to record sub-zero temperatures on Sunday night as the mercury there fell to minus 3.5 degrees Celsius, the officials said. All the remaining weather stations in the valley, including Pahalgam, recorded minimum temperatures above zero degrees Celsius, with the night temperature in Srinagar settling at a low of 4.6 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
