Srinagar has recorded season’s highest snowfall in March. According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, consecutive Western Disturbances along with induced cyclonic circulations have caused record snow and rain over the city.
According to the data available with Skymet till March 10, the city has already recorded 126 mm of precipitation so far against the monthly average of 115.6 mm. The city has already witnessed eight days of rain against the average of 10 rainy days. Heavy rain was recorded on March 2 (35 mm) and March 9 (54 mm).
The last ten-day precipitation of 126 mm is the third highest in a decade during March. But as we proceed further in the month we expect more snow and rain, which could take us closer to the record precipitation of 220.1 mm, recorded in 2014.
It is almost after 30 years that Srinagar began to witness snowfall February onwards instead of December.
Inclement weather conditions have resulted in landslides and piles of snow have accumulated on the roads. In wake of this, the arterial national Jammu Srinagar highway that connects Srinagar to Jammu and rest of the country has been closed now for almost a week, though it was opened for a brief period on Saturday but that too only for one-way traffic.
Heavy snowfall and poor visibility conditions has cut off the entire city from the country, as vehicular movement is completely shut. Air traffic has also dealt a blow. According to a local report, a charter plane had skid off the Srinagar runway while take-off.
Western Disturbances become frequent during winters and are responsible for affecting the weather in the region to a large extent. These systems after approaching the region usually stay for 1-2 days and give short spells of rain. The system is called Western Disturbance due to its movement from west to east.
