Expect heavy rain, high winds

Showers and thundershowers will occur around the country and rainfall could reach up to 100mm in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western and Southern provinces.

Strong winds during these thundershowers could even blow away roofs and branches and uproot trees, the Department of Meteorology warned.

Thundershowers are to be expected around 2pm in the Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Ratnapura, Nuwara Eliya and Mannar districts.

The coming months will see hailstorms, lightning and more disturbances in the atmosphere and bring heavy showers, the Department’s Director of Forecasting, Sarath Premalal said.

According to Mr. Premalal, hot days are increasing and cold days in the hill country are decreasing. He said thunderstorms that will develop in inland areas especially in the western and north western areas will gradually spread to the western coastal areas.

“People should take precautions to avoid any accidents due to lightning by keeping away from open spaces like playgrounds and paddy fields. They should also refrain from touching any metal objects and also unplug electronic devices in the households,” Mr. Premalal said.

The sea area extending from Hambantota to Trincomalee via Pottuvil and from Puttalam to Kankasanthurai via Mannar will be fairly rough at times with wind speeds increasing up to 70-75 kmph. In addition, warm conditions will prevail during the daytime but can fluctuate depending on the wind, with cool conditions being experienced after a rainy day and scorching temperatures on some days.