The northeast monsoon wind regime firmly established its authority over the southern peninsula on Friday, bringing widespread thundershowers in Kerala.
India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its bulletin for the day, announced the commencement of the northeast monsoon over Kerala and Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The IMD’s weather charts forecast the possibility of isolated heavy rain in Kerala during the next three days. A trough of low pressure at mean sea level was in position from southwest to west-central Bay of Bengal, off the Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka coasts.
Embedded in this trough was a cyclonic circulation over the Gulf of Mannar area, extending up to 3.1 km above sea level.
Satellite pictures of the afternoon also showed heavy build-up of rainclouds over the southern parts of the peninsula and the seas on all three sides.
The conditions are ideal for widespread rainfall in Kerala. The rain over the next three days will be heavier in the southern districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam than in other parts of the State, numerical weather prediction models of Chennai Regional Meteorology Centre said.
The models suggest a reduction in the intensity of the rain after October 22 since the cyclonic circulation now over the Gulf of Mannar area is predicted to move towards the west over the Arabian Sea farther and farther away from the Indian coast.
During the 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Friday, rainfall measuring 5 cm on the gauge was reported from Nedumbasserry, Kottayam, Punalur, and Chalakkudy. Several other centres in the districts to the south of Kozhikode district received rainfall ranging from 4 cm to 1 cm.
