The northern states of the country, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, received fresh snowfall and widespread rains on Saturday morning which brought down the mercury.
In the state of Jammu and Kashmir, summer capital Srinagar received its first snowfall of the season. Snowfall also occurred in the higher reaches of the state while heavy rains lashed the plains, the weather department said. "Fresh snowfall has occurred in Zojila Pass, Drass, Kargil, Sonamarg, Pahalgam, Ganderbal, and Gulmarg during the last 12 hours," a department official said.
#WATCH Jammu & Kashmir's Srinagar receives first snowfall of the season pic.twitter.com/cgsRWfy3PB
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018
"Rains continued in the plains of the valley and the Jammu division during this period." Tourists in Gulmarg and Pahalgam hill stations were elated due to the snowfall.
Snowfall in the higher reaches has sent chilly winds into the plains of the valley leading to a dip in the night temperatures.
#WATCH: Snow clad Sonmarg in Ganderbal district of #JammuAndKashmir after it received fresh snowfall this morning. pic.twitter.com/8Q4iAZTk4C
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018
According to the Met Office, the minimum temperature in Srinagar was 1.8 degrees Celsius while it was 0.4 and minus 3.0 in Pahalgam and Gulmarg respectively. Leh town recorded 0.4 while Kargil was at minus 4.8, the coldest town in the state on Saturday. Jammu city recorded 16.2 degrees Celsius, while in Katra 14.2, Batote 5.5, Bannihal 6.1 and Bhaderwah 6.0.
Landslides triggered by incessant rains closed the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway, according to a traffic department official. The landslides were triggered after night-long rains in Ramban district.
"Landslide clearance operation will be started after the rains stop. Intending travellers were advised not to undertake the journey before contacting our control rooms in Jammu and Srinagar," the official said here.
Snow clad Sonmarg in Ganderbal district of #JammuAndKashmir after it received fresh snowfall this morning. pic.twitter.com/TYVO9OWjHn
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018
Heavy snowfall in the Zojila Pass has already closed the Srinagar-Leh highway. Snowfall in Peer Ki Gali area of the Mughal Road connecting the valley with Jammu`s Rajouri district has also resulted in the closure of the road.
In Himachal Pradesh, the tourist resorts of Shimla and Manali witnessed rains, while other hill stations like Kalpa and Chitkul in Kinnaur district and Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti received the season`s heaviest snow, a Met official said.
Manali town, which saw a low of 2.2 degrees Celsius, experienced 40 mm of rain, the highest in the state.
#HimachalPradesh: Fresh snowfall drapes Kullu district's Solang Valley in white blanket pic.twitter.com/J3MXqC2crX
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018
The state capital saw mild rains and recorded the minimum temperature at 7.3 degrees. Keylong, which saw a low of minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, recorded 32 cm of snow, the state`s highest. Kalpa, some 250 km from here, saw 4.2 cm of snow.
The majestic Rohtang Pass (13,050 feet), located 52 km from Manali, also received snow, according to reports. Dharamsala town saw five mm of rain and recorded the minimum temperature at 11.8 degrees Celsius, while Dalhousie had 10 mm of rain with a low of 5.3 degrees.
#WATCH: Kedarnath draped in a sheet of snow after it received fresh snowfall today. #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/5EWGz8D8QK
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018
The state of Uttarakhand also received heavy snowfall. Kedarnath was draped in a sheet of snow after it received fresh snowfall. Yamunotri too received fresh snowfall.
