Cloudy skies, isolated light rain likely in Andhra Pradesh

Cloudy weather with isolated light rain or thundershowers, accompanied by lightning, is likely across Andhra Pradesh on Friday (September 5) and Saturday (September 6), the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Authority has said.

Gusty winds of 40-60 kmph are likely during spells of rain, it says, advising the public, particularly farmers, to remain alert. The Meteorological Centre, Amaravati, on Friday said the Southwest Monsoon remained weak over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Rayalaseema.

Rainfall occurred at only one or two places in the two regions in the 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Friday. No district reported a heat wave or heavy rainfall. Nellore recorded the highest maximum temperature at 38°C, followed by Jangamaheswarapuram at 37.3°C, Cuddapah at 37.2°C and Anantapur at 37.1°C.

Tirupati recorded 36.8°C, Kavali 36.6°C, while Amaravati and Visakhapatnam recorded 35.6°C and 33.9°C, respectively. Amaravati received 10.6 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Friday, taking its seasonal rainfall total since June 1 to 356 mm.

Rainfall across Andhra Pradesh was 66% below normal on Friday. The cumulative rainfall since June 1 stood at 207.8 mm against the normal 388.1 mm, a deficit of 46%. The deficit was 45% in Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam and 46% in Rayalaseema.

P.L.N. Murthy, Head, Cyclone Warning Centre, Visakhapatnam, said the upper air cyclonic circulation over coastal Tamil Nadu and the adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal was positioned at 7.6 km above mean sea level, rather than extending from the surface up to that height.

As the circulation was at that elevation and did not reach the surface, its influence on ground-level weather remained limited, Dr. Murthy said. Had it extended from the surface to 7.6 km, the region would have received significantly more rainfall, he said.

At present, only light to moderate rainfall at isolated places was expected, similar to the previous day’s pattern, Dr Murthy said. Rainfall this season had been concentrated mostly over the southern parts of the peninsula, he said.

The Meteorological Centre said a trough extended from South Interior Karnataka to the Gulf of Munnar across Tamil Nadu at 0.9 km above mean sea level, while lower tropospheric southwesterly to northwesterly winds prevailed over Andhra Pradesh and Yanam.

Racherla in Prakasam district received 3 cm of rain, while Avanigada and Machilipatnam in Krishna district recorded 2 cm each. Kuppam, Palasamudram and Satyavedu recorded 1 cm each in Rayalaseema. The Meteorological Centre forecast light to moderate rain at isolated places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Rayalaseema through September 7.