Panaji: After a fortnight that saw the mercury stuck on 36°C-plus and 28°C-plus almost continuously, the pre-monsoon rain is gaining a little momentum. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), Panaji, has forecast light to moderate rainfall for three more days till Tuesday.
Weather Conditions and Forecast
The showers are likely during late afternoon or night hours. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds up to 40 kmph may occur in isolated places on Sunday and Monday, according to an IMD bulletin. An upper air cyclonic circulation prevailing over northeast Vidarbha and its neighbourhood has triggered the cloudy conditions.
Monsoon Advance
With conditions becoming favourable for the advance of the southwest monsoon into some more parts of the southeast Arabian Sea soon, light to moderate rain activity has started in Goa. This has provided some relief from the exceedingly discomfiting weather conditions experienced over the past fortnight.
Rainfall Data
During the 24 hours till Friday morning, the highest pre-monsoon rainfall of 3.4 mm was recorded, compared to 3.1 mm recorded on May 9 and 3 mm on Wednesday. This has reduced the deficit in pre-monsoon rain to 38.1%. The actual total so far has touched 12.8 mm, while 20.6 mm is considered normal at this stage.
Temperature Impact
The light but widespread rain during the 24 hours till Friday morning also brought down the maximum temperature to 33.4°C on Friday, though it rose slightly to 34.6°C on Saturday. The rain is expected to continue providing relief from the heat in the coming days.
