The belt of heavy to very heavy rain has taken leave of peninsular India and was lately lashing the Lakshadweep islands in the southeast Arabian Sea.

A roaring band of southeasterly winds was seen keeping the easterly flank of the rain-driving monsoon depression “05A” busy on Sunday.

STAYS PUT

The system remained practically stationary to 70 km southeast of Amini Divi (Lakshadweep) and 250 km north of Minicoy (Lakshadweep), an India Meteorological Department (IMD) update said.

The southeasterlies originating from the southern sea were seen rebounding off north Kerala and adjoining south Karnataka coasts and feeding the depression, dropping rains over that part of the land through the day.

Insat imagery showed convective (rain-driving) clouds rising over parts of south peninsular India, south Bay of Bengal, south Andaman Sea, the Comorin area and east Arabian Sea.

WEATHER WARNING

A weather warning issued by the IMD and valid for Monday said that heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur at one or two places over Lakshadweep.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea along and off Kerala and Karnataka coasts and Lakshadweep area during this period.

The IMD has forecast residual rain or thundershowers at many places on Monday and Tuesday over Tamil Nadu, Kerala and south Karnataka, south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema.

Rain or thundershowers would also break out at one or two places over north interior Karnataka, Madhya Maharashtra, Konkan and Goa also during this period.

The winds blowing inland would wind down in speed by Monday as the causative depression slips further away from the coast.

But the IMD saw it intensifying twice over to become a tropical cyclone. This would not impact any part of the west coast of India, since it would have travelled a safe distance into the outer seas.

Global models agree that the system might undergo one round of intensification, which would elevate it as a deep depression.

But the system strength might start withering after it encounters increased vertical wind shear (sudden changes in wind speeds with height) and colder sea-surface which repulses convection and cloud-building.

An extended IMD outlook valid until Friday next said that rainfall would occur at a few places over south peninsular India, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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