Minimum temp rises by several degrees in J-K, snowfall likely in few days

Srinagar: The minimum temperature across Kashmir rose by several degrees, comforting people from intense cold ahead of a possible wet weather spell that may last a few days beginning Saturday, the weather department said.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius on Friday night up by over four degrees from minus 5.5 degrees the night before, officials said.
Qazigund, the gateway to the Valley, registered a minimum of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara, a frontier district, recorded a minimum of minus 1.8 degrees.
Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.4 degrees, the officials said.
The tourist resort town of Pahalgam in Anantnag district, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, registered a low of minus 2.8 degrees Celsius — up from minus 8.6 degrees.
The minimum temperature in Gulmarg, the famous ski resort town in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, recorded a temperature of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius up from the previous night’s minus 5 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
The Met office said the weather was likely to remain cloudy on Saturday with a possibility of light snow in scattered places towards the night with a 75 per cent chance of light-to-moderate snowfall at many places on Sunday.
The weather will remain generally cloudy on January 10 and 11, but there are chances of widespread moderate snowfall and rain in the plains of Jammu, and heavy snowfall in the higher reaches, it said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, the 40-day harshest weather period when the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent.
‘Chilla-i-Kalan’ begins on December 21 and ends on January 30.
The cold wave continues even after that with a 20-day-long ‘Chilla-i-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chilla-i-Bachha’ (baby cold) following it.