COURTESY HT JAN 4

Fresh snowfall in Valley; road, air links snapped
Moderate to heavy snowfall and rain likely to continue in region till January 6, say MeT officials

Snow-covered shikaras on the Dal Lake in Srinagar on Sunday. WASEEM ANDRABI/HT

Intense rain and thunderstorms lashed the National Capital Region on Sunday, throwing life out of gear in several parts of Delhi as the city recorded 39.9mm rain between 8.30am on Saturday and 2.30pm on Sunday — more than the 21.7mm average rain normally seen in January. PTI
HT Correspondent

letterschd@hindustantimes.com

SRINAGAR : There was widespread snowfall in Kashmir and parts of Jammu division on Sunday, prompting the authorities to snap the valley’s surface as well as air connection with the rest of the country.

The snow started laying a white cover on the valley in the wee hours on Sunday, a day ahead of the forecast made by the weather office.

Director of meteorological centre based in Srinagar, Sonam Lotus said moderate snowfall was reported from most places of J&K and at Zojila, connecting the valley with Ladakh.

“As of now, snowfall of the same intensity is likely to continue till afternoon followed by a temporary break till evening,” he said.

He said the maximum snow depth — 12 inches or 30 cm — till 10am was in Kulgam in south Kashmir.

The MeT office said there was 21cm snowfall till morning in Qazigund, 18.5cm in Kokernag, 11.5cm in Pahalgam and 6cm in summer capital Srinagar.

The fresh snowfall led to the suspension of traffic on the highway. “Jammu-Srinagar NH was closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall around Jawahar Tunnel,” the traffic department said in a tweet.

The snowfall also disrupted the air traffic to and fro Srinagar airport here. “No flight operations have taken place at the airport so far this morning due to accumulation of snow on the runway,” an official at the Srinagar Airport, adding that a decision to operate flights would be taken after the runway is cleared.

Avalanche warning issued in 10 districts

The authorities also issued a low and medium level avalanche warning for the upper reaches in 10 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.MeT director Sonam Lotus said moderate to heavy snowfall and rains will continue till January 6.

“There is probability of disruption of surface and air transportation, landslides in hilly areas and waterlogging in drainage system,” he said.

Board, university exams postponed

Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education officials said the examination of students of Class 11 scheduled on Sunday was postponed in view of the bad weather. The new date for the exam will be notified separately, the board officials added.

As snowfall continued in the region throughout the day, Kashmir University too postponed its examinations scheduled for Monday.

Rains lash Punjab and Haryana

Chandigarh : The minimum temperature rose on Sunday in most parts of Punjab and Haryana following rains in both the states. Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, recorded its minimum at 11.4 degrees Celsius, six degrees above normal, an official of the India Meteorological Department said here