New Delhi, May 17 (IANS): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall over Kerala, Karnataka, Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh over the next three days.

On Tuesday, between 8:30 am till 5:30 pm, rainfall/thundershowers were observed at most places over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Kerala & Mahe and Andaman & Nicobar Islands; at many places over Assam and Meghalaya; at a few places over Jammu & Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal; and at isolated places over West Bengal, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

The IMD ascribed the reason to strong southwesterly winds from the Bay of Bengal to northeast India and adjoining east India and an east-west trough from northwest Rajasthan to west Assam at lower tropospheric levels.

Thunderstorms were observed at many places over north interior Karnataka, at a few places over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir, west Rajasthan, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya.

The IMD has further predicted that fairly widespread light/moderate rainfall is likely to continue over northeast India, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall is likely over Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal, south Peninsular India and Western Himalayan Region while for the rest of the country, it would be dry weather.