Low-pressure area to trigger heavy rain in Kerala next week

The State, which had been witnessing subdued rainfall, will see a spurt in rainfall activity in the next week, influenced by the weather systems over the Bay of Bengal.

A fresh low-pressure area is likely to form over the northwest Bay of Bengal off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts around Monday, strengthening the weak westerlies prevailing over the State. Central and north Kerala likely to witness heavy rain for about three to four days, triggered by the low-pressure system.

The low-pressure area that had formed over Gangetic West Bengal and neighbourhood on Friday will move west-northwestwards across Jharkhand during the next 24 hours and weaken gradually thereafter. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for six districts in north Kerala on Tuesday and seven districts in north and central Kerala on Wednesday, where heavy rain in the range of 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm is likely.

The southwest monsoon has been weak over Kerala for the last few days. Rain occurred in only one or two places in the State during the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday. Meencut in Idukki recorded 3 cm of rain, while Haripad in Alappuzha and Panathur in Kasaragod recorded 1 cm of rain each.