The SW Monsoon continued its below normal performance from July into August 2016, but to a much greater extent.
Against a normal rainfall of 681 mm in August, Goa received just 497 mm this year showing a deficiency of -27%!
This took the the seasonal rainfall this year from June 1 till August 31 to 2663.7 mm ( 104.9 inches) against a normal of 2691.5 mm (106 inches) i.e. -1% below normal from +8% above normal at the beginning of the month.
The SW Monsoon in Goa has continued to remain just around normal mainly due to the 35% excess rains it received in June '16, even though July rains were -13% below normal.
Inspite of the poor rains in August this year, the seasonal rains so far have performed better than in 2015 and 2013 and almost as good as in 2014, at this time of the year.
In the graph below, the rains for 2013 are for Panjim Center only, as IMD had not started the Average Weighted Area Rainfall for Goa that it adopted from 2014 onwards.
Overall in August this year there were just 6 days which had normal or above normal rains.
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| Source: IMD, Goa Centre |
During August the interior areas, particularly at the base of western Ghats received heavier rainfall than coastal areas.
A number of rain centers crossed the 2500 mm and the 100 inch seasonal rainfall milestone in August.
Mormugao lost the top spot to Pernem and Valpoi and Sankhali continued to see late seasonal surge!
Though the S W Monsoon starts withdrawing from Rajasthan normally around September 5, Goa continues to experience fairly good monsoon activity throughout September.
The official SW Monsoon season ends on September 30, but the rains have been seen to be continuing in Goa and S India into October in recent years.
Though La Nina has been delayed, the overall deficiency is very low and a good spell of monsoon rains in September can turn the seasonal rainfall into excess!
So, we have a whole month to wait and watch!
