Rare Sept storm dumps heavy rain over drought-hit Maharashtra

The depression over South Peninsula intensified into a deep depression (just below cyclone status) on Thursday and wound back to its older self the day after, India Met Department said.

The flare-up happened over Vidarbha, and much earlier than expected. It helped escalate the monsoon, now entering the last phase, to a rare September peak.

MORE RAIN SEEN

Going forwards, another flare-up is predicted to come about over Gujarat, as the system moves west-northwest piloting heavy to very showers across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

India Met said the monsoon was ‘vigorous’ over Vidarbha and ‘active’ over Coastal Karnataka and Telengana during the 24 hours ending Friday morning.

Heavy to very rainfall was reported from (in cm) Buldana (13); Jalgaon (12); Washim (11); Yeotmal, Wardha and Khargone (10 each); Malegaon and Aurangabad (9 each); and Amravati and Parbhani (8 each).

In this manner, the rains sloshed around in one of the most drought-stricken areas of North Peninsular India and adjoining East and Central India which have accumulated massive rain deficiency during the monsoon.

Thought late in the season, these rains are expected to significantly lead to fresh inflows into the mostly empty reservoirs of the region.

N-W INDIA, NEXT

After dropping most of its moisture over Konkan-Mumbai, West Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, the system may weaken but plough into the Rajasthan desert.

This could bring a trail of fresh wet spell all across West and adjoining Northwest India just as the monsoon had exited or was preparing to exit many parts of the region.

Rains are forecast to spread out from Gujarat and Kutch into southwest Rajasthan, West Rajasthan, and East Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Abnormally heavy rain is forecast for parts of Himachal Pradesh and adjoining Uttarakhand after the monsoon system interacts with an incoming western disturbance.

In this manner, the withdrawal of the monsoon from Northwest India will stay disrupted through the weekend.

FRESH ‘LOW’

Meanwhile, a storm ‘pulse’ entering the Myanmar region from an active West Pacific/South China Sea has set up a fresh low-pressure area over the North Andaman Sea and adjoining East-central Bay of Bengal.

Its further evolution over the Bay of Bengal will be closely watched since opinion is divided over its ability to hold on to itself across time and space to be able to cross India’s East Coast.

The US Climate Prediction Centre sees the system making it in time to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast next week and dumping heavy rain in the neighbourhood.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast is not that optimistic, and suspects that the system may die out in view of a developing typhoon over the Northwest Pacific.