Srinagar recorded the first snowfall of the season as most areas in the Valley and its plains received overnight snow and rains that provided much-needed relief from the intense cold as the mercury rose due to cloud cover.

Srinagar recorded snow and rains equivalent to rainfall of 12.4 mm during the last 24 hours, an official of the Meteorological Department here said.

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The city registered a minimum temperature of minus 0.1 degrees Celsius – up by half a degree from minus 0.6 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the official said.

Gulmarg, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, recorded about 40 cm (15.7 inches) of snow since Tuesday morning, the official said.

He said the famous ski-resort registered a low of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius, same as that of the previous night.

The official said around two feet of snow was recorded in the peripheral areas of the resort including in the areas of Khilanmarg, Kongdoori and Apperwath.

Due to the cloudy sky, the night temperature at most places in Kashmir division rose, providing relief to the people from the intense cold conditions.

The other areas which witnessed snowfall included Ganderbal, Keran, Machil, Karnah, Gurez, Shopian, Sonamarg and Amarnath cave along with surrounding areas.

Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, continued to remain the coldest place in the state with a low of minus 7.7 degrees Celsius – up from the previous night's minus 10.5 degrees Celsius.

Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded 9 cm snow, while the night temperature there settled at a low of minus 0.9 degrees Celsius.

The famous health resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, received 12.5 cm snow, the official said, adding that the resort recorded a low of 0.2 degrees Celsius.

Kokernag town in south Kashmir registered a minimum of 0.1 degrees Celsius and recorded 2.4 mm of rains, the official said. Qazigund the gateway town to Kashmir valley recorded 3.2 mm of rainfall and the night temperature there settled at a low of 0.6 degrees Celsius.

The five-month long dry spell in Kashmir, the longest in nearly four decades, ended yesterday as high altitude areas, including Gulmarg, experienced snow while most of the plains were lashed by rains.

The Met office has forecast wet weather over the next five days with widespread to fairly widespread snowfall or rains between Wednesday and Saturday.