Tip of North India has just received the first snowfall of the season. The elevated reaches of Jammu and Kashmir were lashed with the first snowfall marking the beginning of winters.
According to an official of the local MET department, hill stations of Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pahalgam, and higher reaches in Kupwara, Baramulla, Kulgam, Shopian, and Anantnag districts received fresh snowfall during the last 12 hours.
"This is season's first major snowfall activity and we are expecting an improvement in overall weather conditions from today afternoon onwards," an official of the MET department said.
However, authorities have allowed movement of traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway. As per the latest reports, snowfall had started in the Bannihal Tunnel area of the highway. Also, due to snowfall, other highways including the Srinagar-Leh highway and the Mughal Road have been closed.
The minimum temperatures improved in Jammu and Kashmir because of cloud cover.
The minimum temperature was 2.8 degrees Celsius in Srinagar, 0.6 in Pahalgam, minus 3.0 in Gulmarg, 12.6 in Jammu, 0.2 in Bannihal, 3.1 in Batote, 3.7 in Bhaderwah, and 9.2 in Katra.
Reportedly, Himachal Pradesh's tourist resort Manali and Shimla also received the season's first snowfall. Nearby destinations of the hilly areas including Kufri and Narkanda, Kharapathar were enveloped by a blanket of snow on Monday giving the resort and its neighboring areas a picturesque look.
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The timely snowfall has brought cheers on the faces of hoteliers though the residents of Shimla shivered as icy winds accompanied overnight rain brought down the minimum temperature.
The hills overlooking Manali also experienced moderate spells of snow, an official of the meteorological office here told IANS.
"High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, and Kinnaur districts have been experiencing snow since Sunday," he added.
The mountain peaks viewed from Shimla and the Dhauladhar peaks overlooking the Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama's official palace in McLeodganj near Dharamsala were also covered by a white blanket.
The other hill destinations of Dharamsala, Nahan, Chamba, Dalhousie, and Mandi got rains.
The Met Office said western disturbance -- a storm system originating from the Mediterranean-Caspian Sea region and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- will start receding in the region from Tuesday.
Notably, the snowfall in hilly areas has affected the weather of the region. Cold has tightened its grip in Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh as the icy winds started to descend. Widespread rains have lashed the areas of Punjab since yesterday dropping the temperature to 18 degrees celsius.