Snowfall on ‘Chillai Kalan’ eve in Valley

Srinagar, (KMW News): With the harsh 40-day winter—’Chillai Kalan’—beginning Wednesday, parts of Kashmir valley including hinterland received light snowfall on Tuesday.
Official sources told that Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district recorded about four inches of snow while one to eight centimeter thick white flakes covered Pahalgam resort and Gulmarg, the world famous ski-resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Kupwara in north Kashmir was also under the white blanket of snow and the plains in the frontier district had about 1.5 cm of snow on the ground while areas close to Line of Control had more snowfall, the officials added.
A meteorological official here said that Qazigund, the gateway town of the Kashmir, had about 1.2mm of snow when converted in rain through melting till 1430 hours from 0830 hours in the morning. Reports of rain or snowfall were also received from Baramulla, Gurez (8mm) in Bandipora district, Drass in Ladakh. In Jammu division rainfall was recorded in Batote (1 mm), Bhaderwah (0.4) and Katra (0.2mm).
With overhead cloud cover and snowfall, the minimum temperatures rose by few degrees across the state even as the Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting valley during the winters, was coldest in the state, recording a low minus 7.0 degrees Celsius.
The summer capital of the state, Srinagar, recorded a warmer night as the minimum temperature rose by 3.1 degrees to settle at minus 0.3 degrees Celsius, the MeT official said.
Pahalgam in south Kashmir had minus 1.2 degrees Celsius while its neighbouring areas—Qazigund recorded a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius while Kokernag had a minimum of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius. Kupwara had a low of 0.7 degrees Celisus, the MeT office said.
Ladakh region continued to reel under intense cold with its capital city Leh, recording a minimum of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius.
Even as the mercury rose, the cold wave is unlikely to lose its sting as the Chilaikalan begins tomorrow and would end on January 31.
It does not mean an end to the winter either. Traditionally the 70 day long winter starts in December and is divided into three spells—“Chillai Kalan”, “Chilla Khurd” and “Chilla baccha”. The Chillai Kalan would be followed by a 20-day-long ‘chilai khurd’ and a 10-day-long ‘chila bachha’.