PTI

New Delhi, May 28: The much-awaited southwest monsoon, crucial for the kharif crop in the country, hit Kerala on Monday, a day ahead of the Meteorological Department's prediction.

Monsoon rains were reported from Kannur, Palakkad in Kerala and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, the weather office said.

Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon over some parts of coastal and south interior Karnataka and some more parts of Tamil Nadu during the next two days, it said.

The onset of monsoon occurred due to the strengthening and deepening of westerly/southwesterly flow over Arabian sea and south peninsula, development of an offshore trough extending from Karnataka to Kerala coast, persistent cloudiness over the Arabian sea and adjoining peninsular India, the weather office said.

In Kerala, Thrissur received 12 cm rainfall, Alapuzha, Kozha and Mancompu 11 cm each, Kozhikode (10 cm), Varkala and Thiruvananthapuram city (9 cm each), Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram-airport (8 cm each), Nilambur (7 cm), Cial, Kochi and Karipur (6 cm each), Aluva (5 cm).

The Met office had earlier forecast the onset of monsoon over Kerala on May 24, 2007 but later revised its prediction saying the annual rainfall season would arrive by Tuesday.

The arrival of monsoon over Andaman Sea and southeast Bay of Bengal on May 10, 2007 eight days ahead, and a study of predicators had prompted the Met Office to forecast the onset of the annual rainfall system in Kerala on May 24, 2007.

However, formation of a cyclonic storm over east-central Bay of Bengal after the onset of monsoon over Andaman Sea had disrupted the entire monsoon flow.