The Met Department has advised that local cautionary signal number three be kept hoisted at all ports of Kerala and Minicoy in Lakshadweep for another 24 hours from this afternoon.

This is a warning for squally weather locally for the area from what the Met described as strong to vigorous monsoon conditions over Southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep.

Squally weather

Squally weather with winds speeding between 50 and 60 km/hr is likely along and off the Kerala coast and over Lakshadweep until tomorrow afternoon.

A similar warning has already been in place over the last couple of days. Sea conditions will be ‘rough’ to ‘very rough'.

The state of sea is described qualitatively as calm, smooth, slight, moderate, rough, very rough, high, very high, and phenomenal sea. These qualitative terms correspond to a range of height of waves based on the surface wind speed.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture out into the open sea during the period.

Similar warnings but of a lesser degree are valid for Karnataka and Goa coasts on the West Coast and for Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast on the East Coast.

Reservor levels

Meanwhile, active monsoon conditions have resulted in good rainfall over Kerala during the last couple of days, leading to better inflow from catchment areas of its major reservoirs.

The State is critically dependent on its hydel projects for as much as 70 per cent of its electricity supplies from domestic sources.

Catchment areas of the Idukki project, largest in the State, received 14 cm of rain on Friday, according to the Kerala State Electricity Board.

The storage position here had reached 17.25 per cent of its total capacity as on Saturday morning against 22 per cent this time last year.

Storage position at the Sabarigiri reservoir, second largest in the State, had gone up to 11 per cent of its total capacity.

Shutters of the Lower Periyar dam and the Kallarkutty dam were kept open for a few hours on Friday owing to heavy inflow.

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