Monsoon had this afternoon broken free from Central Kerala where it was perched for a few days now and has now covered most of the State and more parts of Tamil Nadu.
The northern limit passes through Kannur in North Kerala and Uthagamandalam and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu before extending into the North-Eastern States across the Bay of Bengal.
The low-pressure area over West-Central Arabian Sea (away from the Konkan coast) has intensified into being 'well-marked' and is dragging in even more monsoon flows towards the West Coast.
This explains the advancement of the monsoon into North Kerala. It should enter Coastal Karnataka and Goa over the next couple of days.
This is expected to come about with the expected strengthening of the monsoon current over Bay of Bengal in preparation for formation of a low-pressure area.
This would help the monsoon further rev up and progressively bring Karnataka, parts of Rayalaseema, Telangana and Coastal Andhra Pradesh under cover during the weekend.
Buzz in Bay
Meanwhile, the well-marked 'low' in West-Central Arabian Sea is expected to move towards the Oman coast by tomorrow, India Met Department (IMD) said.
Over the Bay, apart from the cyclonic circulation over North Andhra Pradesh coast, another circulation hovers over adjoining East-Central Bay and North Andaman Sea.
Forecasts indicate the two could merge and become a large, composite area of low-pressure with major influence on further advancement of monsoon into Central and adjoining East India next week.
In the process, some of the areas over the West Coast, including Coastal Karnataka, Goa and the Konkan, might witness heavy to very showers.