Southern India Needs To Dry Out After Abundant Rain
By Andrew Owen
Kansas City, November 10 (World Weather Inc.) – Southern India reported heavy rain and flooding this week due to a tropical depression that organized southeast of Tamil Nadu and moved inland Monday. The storm produced enough rain to leave late season summer crops at risk of quality declines. Winter crop planting and establishment conditions have also been less than favorable in many areas and an improving environment will gradually evolve the remainder of this week.
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and neighboring areas in southern Karnataka and southern Andhra Pradesh reported excessive rainfall during the past week. Rain amounts for the seven-day period ending this morning ranged from 3.30 to 10.30 inches. Nearly all of that rain occurred in the past two to three days resulting in flooding. Soil moisture is now rated excessive in most locations due to the recent rainfall and drying is needed to improve crop conditions.
Rice, cotton and groundnuts likely suffered some quality decline because of the wet weather, although losses in production are only suspected in a few open boll cotton areas and in a few of the worst flooded rice and groundnut fields. Sugarcane harvesting was likely delayed along with coffee harvesting, but both crops are not likely suffering a permanent negative impact on production.
Winter rice, sorghum, and groundnuts are also produced in southern India. The rain will help to increase water supply for irrigated production areas and that will help support the long term outlook for winter crops.
Light shower activity will continue on a frequent basis through the weekend, but all of the heavy rain should abate today. Rain amounts will be too light to counter evaporation after today and that will lead to some needed net drying. Temperatures will trend warmer as sunshine returns to the region, but the past two days were notably cool as a result of all the rain. The combination of greater sunshine, warmer temperatures and limited rainfall from lingering showers should lead to a firmer soil in a week to ten days.
Another weak tropical disturbance will evolve over the southern Bay of Bengal during the next few days and may track close to the Tamil Nadu/Andhra Pradesh coast at the beginning of next week. If the storm verifies it may enhance rainfall once again across some of the same areas dealing with flooding rainfall today. Additional rain might also reduce the quality of many crops and resume harvest delays.
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