The state of Goa witnessed its heaviest bout of showers till date this season on Wednesday with the Meteorological department saying that the showers are pre-monsoon showers and that date of arrival of the monsoon in Goa would be announced soon.
Speaking to The Goan, Director of the Goa Meteorological Centre VK Mini said that the rains are pre-monsoon westerlies.
“These are pre-monsoon thundershowers on account of westerlies. The National weather office has declared the onset of the monsoon over Kerala and has declared that the monsoon will cover parts of the Eastern Arabian Sea including parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the next 48 hours. The onset of the monsoon over Goa hasn’t been declared yet,” she said adding that the situation will be clear in the next two to three days.
The state has been eagerly waiting for the monsoon this year after an extended and hot summer season without any sizeable pre-monsoon showers during the months of April and May.
Over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday morning Ponda, Ela (Old Goa) and Mormugao recorded the highest rainfall of 2 cm each, while Panaji, Sankhali and Dabolim recorded rainfall of 1 cm each.
The Met department has forecast, moderate to heavy rain/thundershowers to be “very likely” (more than 75% probability) to occur at most places over Goa during next five days.
Day time temperatures have fallen by over 4°C and are now hovering in the normal range, with the maximum recorded over the last 24 hours standing at a little above 31°C down from above 35°C it was just four days back.
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PANAJI THROWN
OUT OF GEAR
The heavy rains threw normal life out of gear with several commuters stranded without rainwear and waterlogged streets leading to traffic jams and bottlenecks all across Panaji.
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LAST YEAR
2285 mm
- between June and September a deficit of 379.7 mm or 20% less
THIS YEAR
- so far the state has recorded 100.8 mm since the start of June
