Heat dissipates as rain arrives in good force

Rain brings relief from heat in Thiruvananthapuram. Photo: S. Mahinsha

Kerala seems to be coming out of the hot phase of the summer season with meteorological conditions around the southern peninsula now favouring some good showers three weeks ahead of the normal date of the onset of monsoon.

Satellite images on Tuesday showed the formation of convective rainclouds over southeast Arabian Sea, the Comorin area and also southwest Bay of Bengal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its bulletin for the day, said that an upper air cyclonic circulation extending high up to mid-troposphere lay over the south Bay of Bengal. This system could evolve into a low pressure area over the same region during the next 48 years, according to the IMD.

The IMD’s numerical weather prediction models also suggest the possibility of this system strengthening by degrees in the subsequent days to even assume cyclonic proportions by next Tuesday. According to the models, the system would move north towards the Andhra Pradesh coast. But the wet spell it would bring could fan out to Kerala too. In its bulletin, the IMD has forecast the possibility of rain or thundershowers at a few places in Kerala during the next three days.

The IMD said the intensity of the rain over the extreme south peninsula could increase from May 12 (when the weather system now evolving over the south Bay of Bengal is expected to gain in strength and move closer to the land).

During the 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, Vaikom received 6 cm of rainfall, Konni 5 cm and places such as Alappuzha, Varkala and Kanjirappally 4 cm each. Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram Airport, Kozha, Punalur and Cherthala received 3 cm of rainfall each and Aryankavu and Chengannur recorded 2 cm each.

Squally weather

Localised squally weather conditions, accompanied by prolonged thunder and lightening, were experienced in some parts of Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta districts.

According to the director of Thiruvananthapuram Meteorology Centre, K. Santhosh, these were associated with the atmospheric instability caused by the formation of a dense and towering column of rainclouds over a place.

In meteorological parlance, it is called cumulonimbus.