Panaji: An upper-air cyclonic circulation over the southeast Arabian Sea has triggered cloudy conditions over Goa since Friday, bringing very heavy rainfall of 117.4mm to Dabolim in the 24 hours till Saturday morning, while a few other centres received moderate to light showers.The rainfall brought relief after a dry post-monsoon season, with activity dipping in Sept, and slightly reduced the rainfall deficit.“An extreme rainfall event over Dabolim station is quite unusual, which again shows the highly discrete nature of rainfall even within a small state like Goa,” said M R Ramesh Kumar, chief scientist (retired) and meteorologist.Besides Dabolim, three centres recorded moderate rainfall during the 24 hours till Saturday morning. Mormugao received 30.6mm, Panaji 19.2mm and Ponda 10.2mm. Four other centres recorded very light rainfall: Mapusa (2.3mm), Sanguem (1.7mm), Old Goa (1.1mm) and Sankhali (0.2mm). The state recorded an average of 14.1mm.In the 24 hours till Friday morning, only Canacona and Mormugao had recorded rainfall, at 4.2mm and 1mm, respectively.At this stage of the post-monsoon season, Goa should have received 109.6mm of rainfall. However, the cumulative total stood at just 17.5mm till Saturday morning.Goa had been experiencing hot and humid conditions for nearly a week, with the maximum temperature rising above 36°C since Sunday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), Panaji, recorded a maximum temperature of 37.2°C, the highest in nearly 20 years.The rainfall deficit stood at 84.1% over the weekend, with El Nino conditions expected to significantly influence weather patterns from Oct to Feb 2027. “Its global effect will be felt all over the Indian subcontinent, including Goa,” said M R Ramesh Kumar, retired chief scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and a meteorologist.The northeast monsoon has already set in over southeast peninsular India. “But Goa does not come under its influence or retreating monsoon,” Kumar said.IMD, Panaji, has forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds of 30-40kmph at isolated places till Sunday, followed by light rain over the next four days.
