Southwest monsoon likely to hit Kerala by June 5: Met

New Delhi: According to the Met department the Southwest monsoon is likely to set over Kerala by June 5 with a model error of plus/minus four days.

The normal date of onset of monsoon over Kerala is June 1. Low level cross equatorial monsoon flow has started appearing over south of Andaman Sea and adjoining south Bay of Bengal.

During the last few days, considerable increase in the rainfall activity over the Bay of Bengal has also been observed.

The cross equatorial flow is likely to strengthen and deepen, which in turn would lead to further increase in the rainfall activity over the area.

As a result, monsoon is likely to advance over Andaman Sea during the next three days. Advance of Southwest monsoon over Andaman Sea normally takes place around May 20 with a standard deviation of about one week.