‘Freak weather’ predicted in J-K till tomorrow

SRINAGAR — Rains continued in Kashmir Valley even as the weatherman on Thursday forecasted more “freak weather” in J-K for the next 24 hours.

“Today, freaky weather, cloudy with occasional rain, thunderstorms with gusty winds, hail storm at isolated places and snowfall over higher reaches likely to continue till tomorrow (April 22) at most places of Kashmir and at scattered places of Jammu (from afternoon onwards),” the officials said, adding, “Due to (scattered rains) slight respite from hot weather is expected in Jammu region.” However, he said there’s “no forecast” of any major rainfall.

Meanwhile, the official here told GNS that Srinagar received 6.9 mm of rain in the last 24 hours till 0830 hours and recorded a low of 10.0°C against 9.6°C on the previous night. The temperature, he said, was 1.1°C above normal during this time of the year for the summer capital.

Qazigund received 7.2 mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of 8.2°C against 6.5°C on the previous night. The temperature was above normal by 0.7°C for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, had 0.4 mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of 8.0°C against 6.5°C on the previous night. It was 0.4°C above normal during this time of the season for the place, the official said.

Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir, had 0.1 mm of rain and recorded a low of 8.6°C against 3.6°C last night. The temperature was 4.6°C above normal for the place, he said.

Gulmarg received the highest rainfall of 24.8mm of rain and recorded a low of 2.0°C against 2.5°C on the previous night, the official said. While 2.3°C is normal for the world-famous skiing resort during this time of the season, the official said that the temperature was 0.3°C below normal for the place in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

Kupwara town in north Kashmir received 17.8 mm of rain in the 24 hours and recorded a low of 8.4°C against 9.5°C on the previous night. The temperature was 0.8°C above normal for the district, the official told Global News Service.

Rains eluded Jammu and it recorded a low of 25.0°C against 23.4°C on the previous night, the official said. The temperature was 4.0°C above normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.

Banihal recorded a low of 11.2°C, and Batote 15.1°C while Bhaderwah received 0.4mm of rain and had a minimum of 11.5°C, the official said.