Bengaluru, parts of Karnataka, 5 Tamil Nadu districts on heavy rain alert as Bay of Bengal low pressure forms
The current wet weather across the coastal states is being driven by a well-marked low-pressure area over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal.
HEAVY rainfall lashed several districts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru, and Tamil Nadu on Sunday morning amid a yellow alert from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The current wet weather across the coastal states is being driven by a well-marked low-pressure area over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal.
Bengaluru is currently experiencing moderate to heavy pre-monsoon showers. Today, the city is likely to see partly to generally cloudy skies with spells of rain and thunderstorms. The bulk of the weather activity is expected during the late afternoon and evening hours.
The weather agency has issued a yellow alert for Bengaluru for the next three days, saying that the sky will remain cloudy in Silicon City with high chances of rain.
Districts including Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Shivamogga, Mysuru, and Chamarajanagar have been put on high alert for heavy rain and thundershowers, accompanied by gusty winds reaching speeds of 40–50 kmph.
The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Karnataka districts like Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal, and Bagalkot. Thunderstorms with 40–50 kmph winds are expected to persist through today before beginning to ease up tomorrow.
In coastal Karnataka, the weather agency said districts such as Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada are expected to receive light to moderate rain and thundershowers continuing over the next few days.
Tamil Nadu rains
Heavy rains have been lashing several Tamil Nadu districts, including Tiruchirappalli city, since Saturday. According to the Regional Meteorological Department, Chennai, at least five districts in the state are bracing for heavy downpour on Sunday.
According to a statement issued by the Chennai Meteorological Department, heavy rains are likely to occur in 5 districts of Tamil Nadu today. Chennai and several other parts of the state are expected to see generally cloudy skies with a strong possibility of moderate rain or thunderstorms accompanied by lightning.
Heavy rains are likely to continue for the next 3 days as a low-pressure area lies over the southwest Bay of Bengal, the Met Dept said.
Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Coimbatore and Nilgiri districts are expected to receive heavy rains today and tomorrow.
Karur, Tiruchirapalli and Sivaganga districts are also likely to get heavy rains tomorrow, 18 May, accompanied by strong winds up to 40 kmph gusting to 40 kmph.
Early onset of monsoon
On Saturday, the IMD said that the southwest monsoon has advanced into parts of the southeast Arabian Sea, southwest and southeast Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, the entire Nicobar Islands and parts of the Andaman Islands, including Sri Vijaya Puram.
It said that conditions are favourable for the monsoon to advance further into some more parts of the southeast Arabian Sea, southwest and southeast Bay of Bengal during the next three to four days.
The department on Friday said that the southwest monsoon is expected to set in early over Kerala on May 26. Kerala usually sees the onset of the monsoon on June 1, which marks the beginning of the southwest monsoon season (June to September).
Earlier, the IMD stated that India might witness below-normal rainfall this year during the monsoon season. This could be due to the emergence of El Niño conditions during the season, which causes less rainfall in the country.
