| Weather in J&K likely to remain wet till January 29, Jammu-Srinagar Highway closed | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Jan 28: The upper reaches received fresh snowfall while rains lashed the plains in the Jammu region where the minimum temperature settled several degrees above season''s average, the meteorological department said on Tuesday.
Snowfall was reported from the high altitude areas of various districts, while rains lashed Jammu city and other areas in the plains since early morning, it said.
"Light to moderate snow and rains are likely to continue till tomorrow (Wednesday) at most places of Jammu and Kashmir and at a few places in Ladakh''s Kargil district with the main activity later this evening," Director of the Meteorological Department, Sonam Lotus said.
Traffic on the Srinagar to Jammu national highway, the only all weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was suspended again on Tuesday due to fresh snowfall since early this morning.
Traffic was to ply from Jammu to Srinagar on Tuesday, a traffic police official said. However, all Kashmir-bound vehicles have been stopped at Nagrota and Udhampur, he added. He said traffic on the highway was suspended again today following fresh snowfall at Qazigund, both sides of Jawhar Tunnel (JT) and ShaitanNallh. “About six inches of snow has accumulated at Tunnel,” he said, adding the road has become very slippery.
Rain also lashed landslides prone area between Ramban and Ramsu since early this morning. ”All vehicles which had left different parts of the Jammu region have been stopped at Nagrota and Udhampur,” he said.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has started snow clearance operation, he said, adding but continued snowing was hampering the operation. “Once a green signal is received from traffic officials and NHAI, traffic will be resumed from Jammu to Srinagar,” he added. He said this spell is likely to cause more rain or snow in south Kashmir, PirPanjal area like Banihal-Ramban along Jammu-Srinagar national highway, Poonch and Rajouri and may cause temporary disruption of surface transport connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country. After a pleasant weather over the past few days, the residents in Jammu woke up to chilly conditions amid light rains since early morning.
The city recorded an increase of 4.1 notches in the night temperature which settled at 10.8 degrees Celsius -- 2.1 notches above normal during this part of the season, the MeT official said. After reeling under sub-zero temperatures, the minimum temperature in snow-bound Bhaderwah in Doda district was 1.1 degrees Celsius, Ramban''s Batote at 1.4 degrees Celsius and Banihal at 1.8 degrees Celsius, he said. Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district, recorded a low of 8.9 degrees Celsius against the previous night''s 7.6 degrees Celsius, the official said.
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