After a relatively good spell in the first half of July, the State is likely to witness another round of intense heavy spell of rain in the first week of August under the combined influence of two cyclonic circulations over Rayalaseema and the Bay of Bengal.
If north and central Kerala witnessed heavy spells in July, this time southern and central Kerala are likely to bear the brunt of enhanced rain activity.
Warning of heavy to very heavy rain, an orange alert has been issued in seven districts from Thiruvananthapuram to Idukki on Monday by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). According to an IMD bulletin issued on Sunday, apart from the cyclonic circulations, a trough now runs from central parts of the south Bay of Bengal to the Comorin area across south Sri Lanka coast. Further, a shear zone in middle tropospheric levels is likely to develop across extreme south Peninsular India from Tuesday.
Under the influence of the weather systems, extremely heavy rainfall (more than 20 cm rain in 24 hours) is very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday; Ernakulam, Idukki, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta on Wednesday; and Kannur, Malappuram, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Idukki on Thursday. The IMD is monitoring the situation.
In addition, squally weather with wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph is likely to prevail over the Kerala coast and adjoining southeast Arabian and eastcentral Arabian sea. Fishermen are advised not to venture into those areas till Thursday.
The monsoon had slipped into the red in the State in the first month of June, with the State registering around 48% drop in monthly average rainfall. However, the surge in the first two weeks of July helped the State bridge the rain deficit to 26% when July ended on Sunday.
