Yesteday's weather updates...

# chennai - Gusts continue as lightning activity increases. Now 9:07 pm hearing thunder.about 14 hours ago from ceTwit

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chennai - Huge wide area formation. Now 8:49pm winds started gustin from west. Less activity of lightning can be observed.about 15 hours ago from ceTwit

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chennai - huge thunder storm brewing over north-west horizon of chennai. Wind is from south-south-westabout 15 hours ago from ceTwit

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Rainfall on 19-Jun-09:: Kannur recorded a very heavy rainfall of 18 Centimetres, Kochi Airport and Aminidivi 6 cm each.about 17 hours ago from AlertThingy

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Thunder showers can be seen over Southern and central Andhra and to the north-west of Maharastra. Mumbai have received some showers.!!about 17 hours ago from AlertThingy

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Mumbai is getting some pre-monsoon showers... can anyone confirm this now..??about 19 hours ago from AlertThingy

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Chennai - recorded a high of 39.5°C (1:36pm)... when this is going to go down.about 21 hours ago from AlertThingy

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Early morning there was a huge thunder storm near the coast of Andhra. we can see the remnants still hanging from sea to inland.about 23 hours ago from AlertThingy

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Chennai - Before 9 am it's already 34 deg celsius... going to be a BAD HOT HUMID day with some some wind from west.8:51 AM Jun 20th from AlertThingy

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Latest satellite pic shows a well weakened "92B" almost vanished.8:46 AM Jun 20th from AlertThingy

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Cumulative rain(1st-17th June):: Actual rainfall for the country as a whole is 39.5 mm against a normal of 72.5 mm with a deficiency of 45%.8:43 AM Jun 20th from AlertThingy

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Kanyakumari district rainfall on 18-Jun-09:: Puthan dam and Perunchani 4 CM each, Pechipparai, Thuckalay, Suralacode & Sivalogam 3 CM each.8:41 AM Jun 20th from AlertThingy

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Rainfall on 18-Jun-09:: Honavar 18, Aminidivi 15 and Kochi Airport and Shirali 9 CM each.8:38 AM Jun 20th from AlertThingy

Deficit monsoon sparks fear of drought

Defying computational forecasts and despite an early start, India’s monsoon has delivered 45 per cent lower than normal rainfall this month, according to weather scientists.

They have cautioned that if rainfall in July — the second month of the four-month monsoon season — doesn’t make up for the deficit, India may experience drought-like conditions this year.

Twenty-eight of India’s 35 meteorological subdivisions have so far received what weather scientists call deficient (more than 20 per cent below normal) or scanty (more than 60 per cent below normal) rainfall. Hot and dry weather has persisted across central, northern, and eastern India.

Although the monsoon set over Kerala on May 23 — a week ahead of schedule — rainfall between June 1 and June 17 was 39.5mm instead of a normal of 72.5mm — a 45 per cent deficit.

“We haven’t seen any fresh surge of the monsoon from the Bay (of Bengal), and wind conditions have remained unfavourable,” Ajit Tyagi, director-general of the India Meteorological Department told The Telegraph today. “The movement we expected from low pressure zones in the Bay did not take place.”

At least twice this month, the IMD had used numerical forecasts — computational simulations of future weather conditions — to predict that a low pressure zone in the northern Bay of Bengal would revive the monsoon during the second or third week of June.

“This is a cause for concern,” said Madhavan Rajeevan, a senior meteorologist and director of a national atmospheric radar facility in Gadanki, Andhra Pradesh. “The July rainfall is going to be crucial. We have sometimes had similar delays in the past, but bountiful rains in July can make up for the delays.”

In its long range forecast issued earlier this year, the IMD had predicted a 96 per cent, or near normal monsoon for 2009. The forecast is still valid, although the IMD had pledged in April this year that it would update the long range forecast and issue separate forecasts for four regions of India in June this year.

Meteorologists say there is no cause for alarm yet because June typically accounts only for 16 per cent of the total rainfall that India receives from June through September.

“But if we don’t get enough rain in July... if by the end of July, we still have a 20 or 25 per cent deficit, India may be looking at a possible drought,” said Rajeevan, who was earlier at IMD, which is involved in monsoon forecasts. “The second half of the season (August and September) will not be able to make up,” he said.

The IMD said today weather conditions over the western and northwest Bay of Bengal may push the monsoon further into Andhra Pradesh and Orissa within three days. But in the absence of a strong surge, the monsoon is not likely to advance over central India during the next week.

Agrometeorologists said crop performance in India’s rainfed areas would now depend on the behaviour of the rainfall during July. Rice, India’s staple, is transplanted during this period and requires plenty of water.

“The soil in vast areas is dry. The distribution and the quantum of July rainfall will have to be good,” said Vyas Pandey, head of agrometeorology at the Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat. “The delay is likely to cause concern in rice growing regions of eastern and northern India.”

Chennai continues to witness weather of May in mid-June

The city has been witnessing maximum temperatures that are higher by around three to four degrees than the normal for the past one week. On an average, the maximum temperature has been in the range of around 34-36 degrees which resembles the temperature usually recorded in the second half of May.

According to IMD officials, this is happening due to the delay in arrival of monsoon. Normally, the maximum temperature in mid-June ranges between 30 to 32 degrees.

"Weather changes like decline in day and night temperatures, reduction in humidity and increase in moisture that normally take place due to the arrival of monsoon, are not visible right now," said P C S Rao, director (Weather Central), India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune.

"Usually, during the last fortnight of May, a reduction in temperature is witnessed which continues till the first week of June when the monsoon arrives. After that there is further decrease in temperature," Rao said, adding that this year such reduction took place towards the end of May, but after that subsequent reduction in temperature has not taken place.

According to IMD figures, on Tuesday the city witnessed 36.5 degrees maximum temperature, which was higher by 5 degrees than normal temperature. Before that the city has been witnessing temperature between 34 to 36 degrees which were higher by 3 to 4 degrees than normal.

When asked about any change in the progress of monsoon, A B Mazumdar, deputy director general, meteorology, IMD, added that conditions are not favourable for the arrival of monsoon during the next 24 hours. Till then, hot weather conditions are likely to prevail.

IMD officials have pointed out that many areas in Vidarbha and Marthawada region have been witnessing temperatures around 40 degrees or above. "In some neighbouring states, conditions are even hotter. Parts of Andra Pradesh, Orrisa, Jharkhand and near by areas are witnessing heat wave conditions," the IMD officials said.

Meanwhile, monsoon which last registered a progress on June 7, has halted in Ratnagiri since then. It continued to halt there even on Thursday. It may be noted that south-west monsoon had set in over Andaman sea around its normal date on May 20

Good rain in Kanyakumari district

These news cuts from Kanyakumari district are provided by an active friend from Kanyakumari district.

Weatherwise gifted place as compared to Chennai...

Chennai people are sufferring from HOT & Humid conditions like that of May month.

Odd activity at a beach in Kanyakumari district

Odd activity at a beach in Kanyakumari district

Blustery sea in Kanyakumari district continues...

Thanks to our friend from Kanyakumari district.

Good view of a Church near Kanyakumari

A new monsoon Low "92B"

A new monsoon low has formed over the north-central Bay region.
This system is likely to intensify into a maximum of depression and then move into Bangladesh.
Due to this influence the sleeping western wing of monsoon will pick-up pace.
We have already very good signs of monsoon getting active over the western coast. This time the monsoon will enter into parts of maharastra coast and eventually into Mumbai.
Here's the latest satellite pic of "92B".

And latest GFS predicts, that the LOW will move into Bangladesh on 20-Jun-09, and the western coast getting a monsoon beating.

Pleasant weather greets Delhi

June 17, Delhiites woke up to pleasant weather for the second consecutive day Wednesday with the met office forecasting a cloudy sky towards the evening.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the capital recorded a minimum temperature of 26.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal, Wednesday morning. The maximum temperature recorded Tuesday was 36.9 degrees.

“Delhi will experience a pleasant day with clear sky in the morning. We expect to see some cloud cover towards the evening. The pleasant weather condition will continue at least till Friday evening,” an IMD official said.

The official said western disturbances over Rajasthan are the harbinger of the pleasant mornings in Delhi. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 39 degrees Celsius Wednesday.

Drought May Hurt Crops in China, India

Drought may damage crops in China, India, Australia and the southern U.S. this year as elevated Pacific Ocean surface temperatures produce an El Nino effect, said Drew Lerner, the president of World Weather Inc.

Water temperatures are rising in the central and eastern Pacific, Lerner said. As a result, warm, dry weather will occur from July through September, Lerner said today at an agricultural-investment conference in Chicago.

“The past few months, we’ve been in a warming trend,” Lerner said. “The warm pocket in the Pacific has warmed another quarter-degree. This El Nino is coming on fast and it’s coming on furious, and it will have an impact on world weather.”

Parts of the southern U.S. from Texas to Florida will get less than the normal amount of rain in the next three months, Lerner said. Excessive rainfall and cooler temperatures will help plants in the U.S. Midwest, including Iowa and Illinois, he said. Wet weather delayed planting of crops in both states, which are the largest U.S. producers of corn and soybeans.

“This is good for crops that were planted late,” said Lerner, whose weather forecasting company is based in Kansas City. “We’re going to dry out in the autumn. So people might be surprised by how well the crops do, despite being planted late.”

Rainfall in India will decline during the critical monsoon season, which could affect crop development, Lerner said. India is the world’s fifth-biggest grower of soybeans and third- largest rapeseed producer.

“Rainfall in India is going to be poor,” Lerner said. “The oilseeds are all in the reproductive states in September and October, and if they don’t have rain in those two months, there could be some problems.”

Original from:: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=alfBe4L5eB0s