Jammu and Kashmir: Rain lashes plains, snowfall in higher reaches

 Rain lashed the plains as fresh snowfall occurred in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, with the Met office forecasting an improvement later in the day.

"The weather is likely to improve from this afternoon," a Met official said.

The Srinagar-Jammu highway was closed for traffic on Monday afternoon due to the fresh snowfall in Bannihal sector.

As a precautionary measure, traffic has also been suspended on the Srinagar-Leh highway and the Mughal Road.

The minimum temperature was recorded 1.6 in Srinagar, minus 2 in Pahalgam and minus 7.6 in Gulmarg.

Leh recorded minus 6.2 and Kargil minus 7.3 degrees Celsius in the Ladakh region.

 Jammu city recorded 10.9, Katra 8, Batote 1.8, Bannihal 0.2 and Bhaderwah 2.6 as the night`s lowest temperatures.

Meanwhile, the state of Uttarakhand and its neighbouring areas also saw a dip in temperature after a fresh bout of snowfall in the region. 

Badrinath, Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath have overcast sky on Tuesday and the shrines have been receiving intermittent rains over the past 24-hours. The winter cold has picked up pace in Tehri, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.

In the hill stations of Nainital and Mussourie, the temperature in the last 24-hours has been recorded five degrees below normal.