Monsoon to strike next week

15 May 2010 05:16 am

The South-West monsoon may hit Sri Lanka around May 20, a week before schedule, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) has said, according to Indian media reports.

The US Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), too, shows southwest Sri Lanka being hit during the week ending May 21.

Meanwhile the Department of Meteorology in Sri Lanka, when contacted by Daily Mirror online, cautioned that the initial onset of the early monsoon is expected to be the harshest in recent times, with heavy winds and thunder showers expected along the coastal areas.  (KA)