Heavy rain lashes parts of NE; monsoon yet to gain momentum

Guwahati: Heavy rain was reported at isolated locations in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura over the last 24 hours, even as officials said much of the northeast is still awaiting widespread monsoon rainfall.“Monsoon driving force is weaker at present in the country as well as northeast and that’s why the rains are lesser. It may gain momentum in days to come,” KN Mohan, a senior scientist at IMD told TOI on Wednesday.The IMD’s weather bulletin for the 24 hours ending 8:30am Wednesday said heavy rainfall of 7-11 cm occurred at isolated places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Tripura. It also reported thunderstorms with squally or gusty winds of 40-60 kmph at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.Matijuri in south Assam’s Hailakandi district recorded the highest rainfall in the region at 11 cm. Seppa Pampoli in Arunachal Pradesh received 10 cm, while Kangku in Arunachal Pradesh and Kumarghat in Tripura recorded 9 cm each.IMD’s Regional Meteorological Centre said heavy to very heavy rain is highly likely at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya on Thursday, and warned that heavy rain is very likely at isolated locations over Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura.On Wednesday, the Met office forecast fairly widespread to widespread rainfall across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura till June 16, with isolated thunderstorms and lightning likely across all seven northeastern states till June 14.The forecast also predicted isolated heavy rainfall over Arunachal Pradesh during June 14-16; Assam and Meghalaya during June 15-16; and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during June 10-14. It added that isolated very heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh during June 11-13 and over Assam and Meghalaya during June 10-14.