Srinagar, Nov 12 (Reporter) Weather conditions improved on Tuesday following snowfall in the higher reaches of the Kashmir Valley, while rain lashed the plains, resulting in the closure of several key highways, officials said. Traffic officials said the snowfall led to the closure of key roads, including the Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri (SSG) road to Ladakh, the Mughal Road connecting south Kashmir's Shopian with Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu, and the Sinthan road in Kishtwar. However, they said the snow clearance operation on these roads has been undertaken by the concerned authorities. A team of Border Roads Organisations (BRO), along with Jammu and Kashmir Police and district administrations in north Kashmir’s Bandipora, rescued at least 20 vehicles that were stuck in the snow at Zadkhus Nallah and Razdan Top late last night. The Bandipora-Gurez Road has been closed for vehicular traffic due to snowfall, and the snow clearance operation is underway, the official said. Higher reaches of Kashmir Valley, including the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, received snowfall while the plains, including Srinagar, were lashed by rains, resulting in a notable drop in the temperature. The minimum temperature during the intervening nights of Monday and Tuesday was recorded at minus 1.2°C for the first time, and it was minus 1.4°C below normal for the ski resort of Kashmir during this period of the season. Gulmarg also received 11.6mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours. The weather remained overcast in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, and other parts of the Kashmir valley on Tuesday after plains were lashed by rainfall yesterday. Srinagar received 8.6mm of rainfall, the tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir received 13.4mm, Kupwara 12.0mm, and Kukernag 5.8mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours, ending a long dry spell. The minimum temperature recorded during the intervening nights of Monday and Tuesday in Srinagar was 6.4°C, and it was 4.5°C above normal during this period of the season. The day temperatures recorded on Monday were also 0.9°C below normal of 17.3°C in Srinagar. The daytime temperatures are very likely to fall by 2–6°C. There is also a possibility of a significant dip in the night temperatures from November 17 onwards in Kashmir Valley. The Meteorological Centre Srinagar said on Tuesday a weak Western Disturbance (WD) is likely to hit and can cause light rain and light snow over the higher reaches of the north and a few places of central Kashmir during November 15 and 16. “Overall, there is no significant weather activity till November 23," the MeT office said...////...