Northeast monsoon sets in over Keralam; yellow alert for State on Oct. 16

Northeast monsoon set in over Keralam on Thursday, with easterly and northeasterly winds establishing over southern peninsular India, the specialty of the northeast monsoon.

A weather bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday confirmed the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from the country and the simultaneous beginning of the northeast monsoon rainfall activity over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, south interior Karnataka, Kerala, and Mahe.

An upper air cyclonic circulation lies over south coastal Tamil Nadu and the neighbourhood in lower tropospheric levels, along with supporting systems in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Fairly widespread rainfall is expected over Keralam on Friday. The opening day was marked by a cloudy sky with a few spells of thundershowers along the ghat regions in the State.

A yellow alert has been issued for the entire State on Friday, where isolated thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph is expected on the day. Ahead of the arrival of the northeast monsoon, maximum temperature fell appreciably in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts, and there was no large change in it elsewhere over Keralam during the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday.

However, it was above normal in parts of north and central Keralam, especially in Kozhikode and Palakkad districts. According to the weather bulletin, maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 32°C and 25°C, respectively, in the coming days.