The Hindu Business Line : Pre-monsoon showers widespread in Kerala

MOST parts of Kerala received moderate to heavy rainfall overnight and early into Friday morning, prompting eager callers to check with newspaper offices if the southwest monsoon had set in.

But the locally developed precipitation was the result of convective clouds moving in over from the Andhra coast, clarified Dr M. Rajeevan, Director-Forecasting, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune.

Convection refers primarily to atmospheric motions in the vertical direction. In the horizontal direction, these movements produce winds. Speaking to Business Line, Dr Rajeevan said Friday's weather in the State did not in any manner resemble the pattern associated with monsoonal flow. For one, the monsoon westerlies were absent. The convective cloud mass should move away within a day or two, generating some rain in the process.

Dr A.B. Majumdar, Deputy Director-General, IMD, Pune, agreed with Dr Rajeevan. He classified the ongoing precipitation as pre-monsoon showers. Southwesterlies have yet to develop, and the prevailing weather has been brought about by the dominant easterlies.

On Friday, rain or thundershowers occurred at most places in Kerala in conjunction with the convective cloud formation. Cherthala and Mankompu in Alappuzha received heavy rainfall of 11 cm, while Kumarakom (Kottayam) and Thodupuzha (Idukki) recorded 10 cm each and Thiruvalla (Kottayam) 7 cm. Other chief amounts of rainfall in cm are: Kannara, Kunnamkulam, and Paravur - six cm each; Kochi Airport, Alappuzha, Kozha, Idukki, Ottapalam and Perumbavoor - 5 each.

Forecast for the next 24 hours ending Saturday morning said Kerala and Lakshadweep would get isolated rain and thundershowers.

The IMD stuck to the forecast date of June 7 for the monsoon to make a landfall along the southwest coast. The Bay of Bengal arm of the pincer-like formation of the weather system had hit the South Andamans on Thursday. It is the Arabian Sea arm that reaches the mainland.

Weather update put out by the IMD said the trough of low-pressure area over the Andaman Sea had become less marked on Friday. The northeast/southwest wind shear zone over southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal had persisted.

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