Monsoon knocks on Kerala's door, storms and heat to dominate north on Thursday
The southwest monsoon is expected to reach Kerala on June 4. Here's where rain, thunderstorms and heatwave conditions are forecast across India.
The main weather event, which is the southwest monsoon, is inching closer to the Indian mainland, and is expected to enter Kerala on June 4.
According to the India Meteorological Department's(IMD) bulletin issued on Wednesday, June 3, conditions are now favourable for the monsoon to advance into parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and several sections of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal within the next 24 hours.
The monsoon's northern limit currently runs through coordinates stretching from the Arabian Sea up through the Bay of Bengal and into the northeast, broadly hugging the southern tip of the subcontinent.
As we prepare to welcome monsoon, here's how the weather has been across India.
WHAT HAPPENED ON JUNE 3?
Wednesday was a wet and wild day across much of India.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall lashed isolated places over parts of Karnataka and Kerala, while heavy showers were recorded across Assam & Meghalaya, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
The single highest rainfall of the day was 14 cm at Long Island in the Andamans, followed by 11 cm at Kakkeri in northern Karnataka and 10 cm at Kozhikode, Kerala.
Thunderstorms accompanied by ferocious winds reaching 70-95 kmph struck isolated parts of Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, while speeds of 50-70 kmph were reported over Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.
A hailstorm hit West Madhya Pradesh and a dust storm swept isolated pockets of western Rajasthan.
On the temperature front, the highest maximum of 43°C was recorded at Khammam in Telangana, while minimum temperatures ran markedly above normal across parts of eastern Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat.
HOW WILL THE WEATHER BE ON THURSDAY?
Wednesday is set to be a rough day across much of the country, but is also expected to be marked with celebration as monsoon is expected to arrive.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places over Kerala & Mahe, with heavy rain also very likely over Karnataka, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Assam & Meghalaya, Konkan & Goa, Lakshadweep, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal, and Uttarakhand.
Thunderstorms with gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph are very likely at isolated places over Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, and parts of Madhya Pradesh.
Hailstorm activity is expected in isolated places throughout Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand.
THE NORTH REMAINS WARM
While the south braces for rain, parts of the north face a very different threat.
The IMD has warned of heatwave conditions in isolated pockets over Bihar that are expected to continue through June 9.
Eastern Uttar Pradesh comes under heatwave risk from June 7, and western Uttar Pradesh from June 8-9.
Temperatures in northwest India are forecast to dip by 2-4°C between June 4-6 before climbing again by 3-5°C in the following days, offering only brief respite before the heat returns.
But from what the current IMD forecasts say, heat is but a guest for a few more weeks in the North as the monsoon is almost here.