Rain clouds hang over West Coast, Central India as ‘low’ crawls landward

Morning satellite map on Tuesday revealed rain clouds over the West Coast, Central India and parts of East and North-East India as the previous day’s low-pressure area crawled up from the waters and settled over South Odisha. The land-based trough in which it was embedded continued to lie South of normal, indicating active monsoon conditions. 

India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the monsoon trough was unchanged in its alignment from Jaisalmer and Kota in Rajasthan; Guna and Mandla (Madhya Pradesh); Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh); the centre of the ‘low’ over South Odisha lay anchored in the Bay, opening a window for a follow-up ‘low’ over the waters sooner than later. 

Follow-up ‘low’ soon

The IMD has predicted the second ‘low’ over West-Central and adjoining North-West Bay by Friday. A live monsoon trough with a ‘low’ at its seaward tip throws up the question of which comes first. Meteorologists are divided over whether it is a ‘low’ that initiates the trough, the monsoon backbone over the plains of North-West and Central India, or the other way round. In fact, the IMD’s short- to medium-term outlook doesn’t rule out the possibility of a third ‘low’ popping up before the month is out. 

Elsewhere, a western disturbance lay close to North-West Rajasthan, backed by a cyclonic circulation not far behind, even as it ran into feeble monsoon south-easterlies blowing across the monsoon trough. Their interaction has set up clouds over an area extending from South Gujarat, West Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, parts of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. 

Also read

Half of India’s normal area under kharif sowing completed

Back to back low-pressure areas to drive monsoon to new high this week

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu at loggerheads yet again over Cauvery 

Heavy rain forecast

A five-day outlook from IMD said scattered to fairly widespread rain, thunderstorms and lightning are likely over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and East Rajasthan. It will be isolated to scattered over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh, Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi and West Rajasthan. Isolated heavy rain may lash Uttarakhand and East Rajasthan until Saturday; West Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday and Thursday; and East Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday on the western disturbance’s track. A similar outlook is valid for West Rajasthan on Tuesday and Thursday; and for Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday and Thursday. Isolated very heavy rainfall may break out over Uttarakhand on Wednesday and Thursday; and East Rajasthan on Thursday.

West coast, Central India

Along the West Coast, West and Central India, fairly widespread to widespread rain, thunderstorms and lightning may farm out over Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Kerala and Mahe, Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, and Telangana and Rayalaseema for the next five days. It will be isolated to scattered light to moderate over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.

Outlook for West India

Heavy to very heavy rain is likely over Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Kerala and Mahe during this period. Isolated extremely heavy rainfall is likely over Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Coastal and South Interior Karnataka on Tuesday (today). It will be isolated heavy over Telangana, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, Chhattisgarh, and North Interior Karnataka until Saturday; over Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha until Thursday; and over Marathwada, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on Tuesday. Isolated very heavy rainfall is likely over West Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday; and over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, and Telangana from Thursday to Saturday.