Showers will occur at times on Monday in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in the Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Galle and Matara districts, the Department of Meteorology said.
Several spells of showers may occur in the North Western Province. Showers or thundershowers may develop at a few places in the Ampara, Monaragala and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m. Mainly dry weather will prevail over the rest of the island.
Winds shift west and north
Fairly strong winds of about 30 to 40 kilometres per hour can be expected at times over the western slopes of the central hills, the North-Central and North-Western provinces, and in the Mannar, Trincomalee, Hambantota and Matale districts.
The department asked the public to take adequate precautions against damage from the temporary localised strong winds and lightning that can accompany thundershowers.
What changed from Sunday
The shower forecast repeats Sunday’s province and district list unchanged, but the North Western Province has been upgraded from “a few showers” to “several spells of showers”.
The wind advisory has moved. Sunday’s version covered the Northern and Central provinces; Monday’s drops both and instead names the Mannar and Matale districts, while keeping the western slopes of the central hills, the North-Central and North-Western provinces and the Trincomalee and Hambantota districts.
Rain on one side, heat warning on the other
The forecast sits alongside an amber warm weather advisory valid until 4.00 p.m. on Monday, which warns that the heat index will reach “Caution” level in the Eastern and North Central provinces and the Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Monaragala districts.
Monaragala appears in both: it is among the districts where afternoon thundershowers are possible and among those under the heat advisory. The two are not in conflict — the advisory covers the heat index in the daytime, and the shower outlook applies after 2.00 p.m.
Much of the island remains dry. Polonnaruwa and Pothuvil recorded the country’s highest temperature of 37.5°C on Saturday, and the Disaster Management Centre has reported more than 81,000 people affected by the deepening dry spell.
