Strong gusty winds prevail over City

Strong gusty winds prevail over City
Tuesday July 1 2008 10:24 IST

ENS

BANGALORE: Strong gusty winds, which Bangalore is presently experiencing, are due to the active monsoon prevailing over coastal Karnataka and the Western Ghats. The strong winds blowing at a speed of 40-50 kmph have brought along with them light to moderate rainfall which some parts of the City have been experiencing for a week.

The Meteorological Department officials say that this is a common phenomena during monsoons, where some parts of interior Karnataka receive rainfall only when monsoon is weak or at the break in other parts of the state. Presently, the South West Monsoon (SWM) is active in coastal Karnataka, south interior Karnataka and the Ghat region bringing heavy rainfall measuring up to 26 mm. This is a typical pattern during monsoons, City Meteorological Centre, Director in-charge, A Muthuchami said.

"A weak monsoon can occur anytime during monsoons (from June to September) while a break in monsoon occurs from the end of July to September, this is when Bangalore will receive heavy rainfall."

Generally, surface winds blow at a speed of 10-15 knots (one knot= 1.85 kmph, i.e 20-30 kmph). Gusty winds prevail during monsoons due to the pressure gradient bringing rainbearing clouds. During this time the City is presently experiencing very light to light rainfall measuring between 0.2 mm to 4 mm.