The monsoon scenario seemed potent over East and adjoining Central India as yesterday's low-pressure area shifted north-west to drop anchor over northern parts of East Madhya Pradesh this morning.
Predictably, it retained the trough formation that links it with Konkan on the West Coast across Vidarbha and Marathawada, prompting rains to spread out along the region in Central India.
Satellite pictures this morning showed clouds building up over a stretch from Konkan into Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Gondia, Bilaspur and Korba in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Clouds also hung over North-West Madhya Pradesh and adjoining South-West Uttar Pradesh and into the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttar Pradesh dn Bihar.
An India Met Department (IMD) outlook suggested that the rain-driving 'low' might drift towards South-West Uttar Pradesh and adjoining North-West Madhya Pradesh by tomorrow and likely strengthen a bit.
It is forecast to sit smack over Delhi and adjoining Chandigarh and Haryana later, interact with an incoming western disturbance, and produce heavy rain over the region in the process.
Later, it is forecast to get pushed back by the opposing westerly winds into interior Uttar Pradesh and adjoining Bihar, likely spreading the rains into that region as well.
Fresh clouds in Bay
Meanwhile, fresh clouding has been observed this morning over Andaman Sea and adjoining extreme South-East Bay of Bengal, extending upstream from the Gulf of Thailand.
This is likely the precursor to formation of a follow-up circulation in the Bay that is forecast by several models to approach the South Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Chennai coast next week.
But the system may not grow appreciably in strength since it would run headlong into north-westerly winds blowing in from upcountry and would likely be forked away into Central India in the process.
But the system would have generated normal to excess rain along the West Coast and the rest of the interior peninsula, with the heavier rains lashing the stretch from Konkan to Coastal Karnataka.
This spell, according to the US Climate Prediction Centre, would last into October 3.
The IMD projections also seem to agree, at least with respect to forecast until September 30 when the South-West monsoon normally withdraws fully, but is likely to last beyond this year.