Srinagar: Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir with rest of the country, was closed for traffic again after remaining open for a day.
The 294-km highway was closed last night following snowfall at many places along it.
"The highway was closed late yesterday following snowfall. It has been decided not to allow any fresh traffic today," an official of the traffic department said.
The stranded vehicles, which were stopped near the Jawahar Tunnel yesterday due to snowfall, will be allowed to ply towards Srinagar later in the day, he said.
The highway was opened for traffic yesterday morning after two days following its closure due to snowfall on Wednesday.
Most parts of the Valley experienced fresh snowfall during the night even as minimum temperatures at many places went further down the freezing point.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.3 degree Celsius compared to the previous night`s low of minus 0.7 degree Celsius, a MeT Department official said.
The city received 0.6 mm of snowfall during the night, he said.
The mercury in Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir plummeted by over 7 degrees from the previous night`s low of minus 6.8 degree Celsius to settle at a low of minus 14.3 degree Celsius.
The tourist resort recorded 20.2 mm of snowfall, the official said.
The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a low of minus 11.2 degree Celsius last night after recording a low of minus 10.8 degree Celsius the previous night.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 3.0 degree Celsius and received snowfall of 8.4 mm during the night, the official said.
The mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 4.5 degree Celsius, down by almost four degrees as compared to the previous night`s minus 0.7 degree Celsius, he said.
The night temperature in south Kashmir`s Kokernag settled at a low of minus 4.0 degree Celsius, same as the previous night, he said, adding, the town recorded 11.1 mm of snow till 0830 hours in the morning.
Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, was the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 15.6 degree Celsius compared to the previous night`s minus 17.2 degree Celsius.
Kargil, also in Ladakh, registered a minimum of minus 9.0 degree Celsius against minus 8.6 degree Celsius the previous night, the official said.
The MeT office has said rains or light snowfall could occur at isolated places over the state, but the weather would improve from tomorrow.
