Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 3 : Kashmir valley was lashed by rains while there was snowfall in the hills with Weatherman forecasting wet weather across the region for next few days.
The Meteorological Department today forecast rains in the Valley and snowfall in the hills till Feb 7.
The MET said that weather will be cloudy with light rain and snowfall at many places on Feb 3 while from Feb 4 to Feb 6 there will be dry weather and from Feb 6 to Feb 7, there is possibility of light snowfall in the higher reaches.
Srinagar and other parts of the Valley were lashed by rains early today and in the evening. The rains and snowfall across the region led to drop in the day temperatures with Srinagar only place which recorded a day temperature of 10.0 degree Celsius which is 1.0 degree Celsius above normal. Qazigund and Pahalgam recorded 5.4 degree Celsius which is 3.1 degree Celsius and 0.7 degree Celsius below normal. Kupwara, Kokernag and Gulmarg recorded 5.5 degree Celsius, 6.2 degree Celsius and -0.8 degree Celsius respectively which is 3.5 degree Celsius, 0.6 degree Celsius and 2.2 degree Celsius below normal for these places.
Night temperatures across Kashmir today registered a slight increase, with Srinagar recording a minimum temperature of 2.8 degrees Celsius, more than three degrees higher than the normal seasonal average.
The rise in night temperatures in the summer capital has been gradual but consistent since the conclusion of Chillai Kalan, the valley’s harshest 40-day winter phase.
Gulmarg remained the coldest place in the region, recording a low of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius. Despite this, the temperature there was about two degrees above the usual average of minus 7.4 degrees Celsius for this time of the year.
Pahalgam also saw a significant rise in minimum temperature. The mercury climbed by over four degrees to settle at minus 0.4 degrees Celsius.
Elsewhere in the Valley, Qazigund recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius, Kokernag touched the freezing mark at zero degrees, while Kupwara registered a minimum temperature of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Chillai Khurd, the 20-day phase of comparatively milder cold, began on Saturday following the end of Chillai Kalan. This period will be succeeded by Chillai Bachha, a 10-day spell marking the final phase of winter cold in the region.
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