Srinagar, March 24: Rains continued to lash plains while more snow got accumulated in higher reaches in Kashmir valley including world famous skiing resort of Gulmarg, officials said on Wednesday.

The meteorological department has forecast significant improvement in weather and said that it was unlikely that there would be any major rain or snowfall activity in the Valley until the March 31.

Rains in plains and snowfall in higher reaches started on Sunday afternoon and continued for the fourth running day today.

In last 24 hours till 8:30 a.m. today, Gulmarg received 15 cms (6 inches) of fresh snowfall, a meteorological department official told GNS.

He said the famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district recorded minimum temperature of minus 2.5°C against minus 0.9°C on the previous night.

Srinagar, he said, received 30.9mm of rainfall during the time while mercury settled at 4.6°C, same as recorded on the previous night in the summer capital of the J&K.

Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir, received highest rainfall in Valley—47.2mm in the last 24 hours and recorded a low of 4.0°C against 4.6°C on the previous night, he said.

Mercury settled at 0.3°C against 3.2°C on the earlier night at Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir which also received 26.4mm of rain during the time, he said.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, recorded a low of 2.8°C against previous night’s 3.6°C while it received 32.1mm of rain in the 24 hours, the official said.

The minimum temperature settled at 1.6°C in Kupwara against 3.6°C on the previous night, the official told GNS. The north Kashmir district received rainfall of 34.8mm during the time, he said. There are reports about waterlogging in some low-lying areas in the Valley.

The meteorological department has forecast a “significant decrease” in the amount of rainfall and said that the weather will vastly improve from Wednesday evening itself.

Even as scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rain, thundershowers and snow has been forecast over Jammu and Kashmir in next 24 hours, the weather is going to be mainly dry from Thursday till March 31, the official said.

“There is no forecast of any major rainfall activity till ending March,” the official added. gns