Overcast conditions prevail in Thiruvananthapuram this morning after having been washed over by a thunderstorm in the small hours. Kochi, 200 km to the north, is partly cloudy.
A steady drizzle has been set off in Thiruvananthapuram, with skies being greyish in tint, which correlates with the monsoon conditions.
Thus, onset conditions for the monsoon are building along the Kerala coast with humidity touching 94 per cent in Kochi and over 80 per cent in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mercury is hovering in the range of 24 deg Celsius in Kochi and 27 deg Celsius in Thiruananthapuram.
But winds are yet to align in typical westerly to southwesterly direction along the coast. They prevail from being northerly in Kochi to northwesterly in Thiruvananthapuram.
Also, it will take a bit more for the offshore trough to stretch along the west coast to satisfy another major requirement.
This elongated area of lower pressure acts as a receptacle for monsoon winds and the moisture they carry before they impact the coast.
Indications are that the east of India, Tamil Nadu and Seemandhra included, will get more than its share of rain during the onset phase.