Northeast monsoons likely to set in over AP on October 29, ending dry spell

Visakhapatnam: The Northeast monsoons are likely to set in over South Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and interior Karnataka by October 29, ending the month-long dry spell, according to a private weather website Skymet.

A report from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Amaravathi said that the cyclonic circulation over the Southwest Bay of Bengal off the Tamil Nadu coast between 1.5 km and 3.1 km above mean sea level has become less marked. Lower tropospheric northeasterly winds prevailed over Andhra Pradesh and Yanam. These winds are likely to trigger the onset of the winter monsoons.

Skymet said that the southern region received no rains last week and most parts, except for Kerala, have been abandoned by the seasonal rains with deficiencies as large as 95 to 100 percent.

The website said that cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal disrupted the airflow. Storms originating over the Bay of Bengal and heading for Bangladesh or Myanmar lead to depletion of moisture all along the coast and deep inland. The sapping of moist winds and alternation of thermal configuration delay the cloud formation over the landmass.

Such storms also drain out a chunk of energy from the sea surface. One such cyclonic storm, ‘Hamoon’, which just cleared the Bay of Bengal and northeast India, sapped the entire moisture in the Bay, delaying the onset of northeast monsoons.

However, airflow with other captive parameters is expected to get replenished and resume normal within the next 72 hours. The first burst of northeast monsoons is expected on October 29, the website said.