The Hindu Business Line : Thunderstorms fade, may return with heating

Thiruvananthapuram April 17 Heat, and more heat, dented occasionally by passing thunderstorms, is likely to be the dominant theme as an organised weather system exited southwest Bay of Bengal to the northeast into Myanmar.

This `low' had spun briefly to become well marked, the maximum intensity it attained during the weeklong stay over the Bay waters, leaving behind a trail of thunderstorms straddling the peninsula.

This trail is now tapering off even as satellite pictures showed cloud formations strewn around in patches over the Bay but with little in terms of weather activity.

These pictures also showed the `pitch black' of a land getting superheated to the northwest of the country, according to Mr Jim Andrews of AccuWeather.com.

It is this very `pitch black' area that would witness a line-up of thunderstorms over the next 2-3 days, according to Mr J.V. Singh of the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).

This is due to the visitation by a western disturbance, which carries with it a fountainhead of moisture.

This will help cool down the plains of the north and northwest, Mr Singh said.

The western disturbance has also thrown up a cyclonic circulation hovering over Haryana and adjoining areas.

Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall/thundershowers have been forecast for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the next three days.

Scattered rainfall/ thundershowers are also expected over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh.

Isolated to scattered rain/thundershowers are also likely over the southern peninsula, the southeast coast and the North-Eastern States in line with forecasts.

EXCESS RAIN

Late winter and early spring season from March 1 has, until April 14, recorded excess rainfall of two per cent for the country as a whole.

This has largely resulted from a bountiful western disturbance season when most of the rabi crop belt witnessed heavy to very heavy rainfall, sometimes accompanied by hail and high winds.

An India Meteorological Department update said that excess precipitation was 214 per cent in Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh; 155 per cent in western Uttar Pradesh; 128 per cent in eastern Uttar Pradesh; 90 per cent in west Rajasthan; and 85 per cent in Punjab.

According to rabi crop watchers, winter and early spring rains have provided favourable moisture for filling wheat.

The subsequent turn to hot, dry weather could only bolster the prospect of maturing wheat and wheat harvests.

Mr Jim Andrews said that through the coming week, the subcontinent will stay within overall high pressure that spells clear skies and fair weather.

But a relatively weak low pressure is going to linger, with day-by-day reorientations over the peninsula, fostering hit-or-miss thunderstorm over the south and the east.

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