The Department of Meteorology has warned that rainfall above 100mm is likely at some places in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in the Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts from Wednesday, June 3, with an increase in rainfall over the southwestern parts of the island and stronger winds expected across the country over the next few days.
In its forecast issued at 2:00pm Tuesday, the Met Department said showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in the Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts.
Strong winds of 40–50 kmph are expected at times across the island. The public was urged to take adequate precautions to minimise damage from temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
The advisory marks the onset of an intensified southwest monsoon spell — a pattern broadly tracking the El Niño/southwest monsoon dynamics flagged by the Met Department in early May — and lands on the same axis as the Western and Sabaragamuwa landslide-prone slopes the NBRO has been monitoring.
Coming during the southwest monsoon’s most active phase, the warning carries higher reservoir-management stakes than typical rain advisories: the Castlereigh and Maussakelle hydropower complex draws on Sabaragamuwa catchments, and the central highlands’ rainfall pattern directly affects hydroelectric output in the coming weeks.
Source: Newswire.
