MANSEHRA/ABBOTTABAD/ MINGORA, Dec 29: The upper parts of Hazara and Malakand divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received the first snowfall of the season on Wednesday, breaking the four-month long dry spell in the region.

According to reports Kaghan valley in Mansehra district, Nathiagalli and Thandiyni in Abbottabad while Kalam and Malam Jaba in Swat district received light snowfall and rain.

Abdul Sattar, a resident of Naran valley, told Dawn by phone that snowfall started early in the morning and continued till evening without interval.

The tourist resorts like Nathiagalli, Thandiyni and other hilly areas of Abbottabad received first chunk of snow, which was started late afternoon. At least four to six inches snow was recorded in hilly areas of Abbottabad.

The mercury dropped to zero in Abbottabad town when it started raining. The unannounced loadshedding and low pressure of natural gas increased the miseries of people in the town as they faced numerous problems in cooking and prepare food.

The hilly areas of Swat received first rain and snow after devastating floods in July last that played widespread havoc in the province and other parts of the country. According to reports the snow has covered peaks of mountains in Kalam, Malam Jaba, Merghuzar and Mandal Dagg areas of Swat.

The Met office in Mingora said that rain and snowfall had brought down temperature to minus 10 degree centigrade.

A meteorologist said in Peshawar that there was no chance of rains in Peshawar valley including Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi and Nowshera districts. He said that the dry spell would continue till end of January in the districts, called Peshawar valley.

“There is no chance of heavy rains in the valley in next three or four weeks,” he said. The weather remained cloudy in Peshawar and surrounding areas.

The Lowari Top, linking Chitral road with the rest of the country, was closed due to snowfall. Sources said that hundreds of passengers were stranded on both sides of the Lowari Top. An official of Chitral police told Dawn that the unfinished Lowari tunnel was yet to be opened for traffic.

He said that officials of Korean construction company, Sambu, were reluctant to allow traffic through the tunnel. He added that authorities were negotiating with the company's management.