THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Heavy to very heavy rainfall exceeding 13 cm will occur at a few places in Kerala till Sunday while rainfall of up to seven cm is expected to lash parts of the state till Saturday morning, the Met Dept has warned. The weatherman has also warned of strong onshore winds from northwesterly direction with speeds of up to 45 to 55 kmph along the Kerala coast and Lakshadweep till Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, Kavaratti in Lakshadweep received heavy to very heavy rainfall of 14 cm. While Kayamkulam in Alappuzha recorded nine cm of rain, eight cm of rain was recorded in Thiruvananthapuram airport. An analysis of the monsoon rainfall from June 1 till date shows that the state received 159.4 cm of rain as against the long-period average of 168.8 cm - a variation of six percent. While only two districts were in the ‘deficit’ category last week, the number has increased to four this week.
As per the the Met Department’s classification, a variation of up to 20 per cent either way from the long-period average is considered as ‘normal rainfall’.
While only Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram were in the ‘deficit’ category last week, the recent variations in rainfall pattern has enabled Kollam to enter the ‘normal category’ while Alappuzha, Kasaragod and Thrissur have joined Thiruvananthapuram in the ‘deficit’ category this week. Idukki, where the state’s major hydel power projects are located, has received nine per cent more rain when compared to the long-period average rainfall. Thiruvananthapuram recorded 37 per cent deficit rainfall and figured in the bottom of the table.