First, work out the range of temperature for each station (ACT max − ACT min):
Sample answer — a radio/TV script for the evening bulletin of 1 February 2024:
“Good evening. Here is the weather report for Jammu and Kashmir for today, the first of February 2024, prepared from the evening data of the India Meteorological Department.
It has been a cold, wet and snowy day across the Valley, with every station reporting a maximum temperature below its normal for the date. Srinagar recorded a maximum of 6.5°C — 2.4 degrees below normal — and a minimum of 0.2°C, giving a range of 6.3 degrees. Kupwara reached 5.1°C and dipped to −0.7°C, while Qazigund managed only 3.2°C, a full 5.3 degrees below its normal, with a night minimum of −0.4°C.
The high hill stations were colder still. Pahalgam had a maximum of 1.1°C and a minimum of −4.1°C, and Kukernag 2.6°C and −1.4°C. Gulmarg was the coldest place in the region — the temperature there did not rise above freezing at all, with a maximum of −2.6°C and a bitter minimum of −7.6°C. Across the border in Muzafarabad it was the mildest, 8.5°C by day and 5.6°C at night — the smallest day–night range of all our stations, at just 2.9 degrees.
There was widespread precipitation in the twenty-four hours ending at 8:30 this morning. Qazigund led with 36.2 mm of rain and 22 centimetres of snow; Kukernag received 35.2 mm and 30 centimetres of snow; and Gulmarg recorded the heaviest snowfall, 35 centimetres, with 35.2 mm of rain. Pahalgam had 19.4 mm and 23 centimetres of snow, Kupwara 21.9 mm and 10 centimetres, and Muzafarabad 25.8 mm of rain. Srinagar was the least affected, with 13.4 mm of rain and 2.4 centimetres of snow. Fresh precipitation continued through the day at most stations, though Srinagar reported only a trace amount between half past eight this morning and half past five this evening.
The air has been very damp everywhere. Morning relative humidity was between 76 and 97 per cent, and by evening Gulmarg had reached 100 per cent — saturated air — while Kukernag was at 97 and Pahalgam at 96 per cent. Srinagar held steady at 89 per cent through the day.
In short: a cold, overcast and snowy day, colder than usual for the season, with heavy fresh snow in the higher reaches. Travellers on the Jammu–Srinagar highway and near Gulmarg and Pahalgam should check road conditions before setting out, and residents are advised to guard against the cold. Good night.”
How to read the DEP column: DEP is the departure from normal — how far today was from the average for that date. Every maximum-temperature DEP here is negative, which is the single clearest fact in the table: this was a colder-than-normal day right across the region. Interestingly the minimum-temperature DEPs are positive, because the thick cloud cover that brought the snow also acted like a blanket and stopped the night from getting as cold as it usually does.
Tip: Muzafarabad's row has dashes in the NOR and DEP columns — normals are not available for that station, so no departure can be calculated. In a real bulletin you say so rather than leaving it out.