THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The summer showers in the state are all set to gain momentum as the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has sounded a yellow alert in nine districts for Sunday and Monday, followed by a warning of isolated heavy rains. The weather models issued by the Indian Metrological department has also forecast moderate rainfall across the state for the next four days.
The alert has been sounded in Kollam, Pathnamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram.
Kerala has already received 10 per cent excess summer rain from March 1 to May 14. During this period, the state recorded 234.2 mm rainfall as against the normal of 213.7 mm.
Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts have recorded 60 and 55 per cent, respectively excess rainfall, while Kasaragod district registered a deficient rainfall of 57 per cent. Meanwhile, the Cyclonic Storm ‘AMPHAN’ (pronounced as UM-PUN) formed over the Southeast Bay of Bengal and neighbouring states has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the same region.
It is very likely to intensify further into a 'very severe cyclonic storm' during the next 12 hours and is expected to cross West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts between Sagar Islands (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) during the afternoon or evening of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm. Though Kerala was not directly influenced by the cyclonic storm, various agencies are monitoring if the rainfall in Kerala was the result of cyclonic influence.