I'm still on the other side of the world, in Minnesota, where it remains much cooler and wetter than normal for this time of year. To be honest, I'm missing the heat of northern India!
Total rainfall on Tushita Road just below the mountaineering center (in the upper part of town) since I left on the 20th of May has been 2.48" (6.3cm) -- most of that happening on two separate occasions, and the vast majority occurring during a very heavy downpour with hail last week. Thanks to my neighbor, Tom, for keeping an eye on the rain gauge (and keeping the monkeys away from it) in my absence.
In other news... there has been official monsoon onset declaration in south India, which is pretty much on schedule. Onset was declared in Kerala on the 1st of June, and as of today (5th June), the northern limit extended from the west coast of Maharashtra, south of Mumbai, through Hyderabad, and eastward through central Andhra Pradesh, well north of Chennai. Conditions are favorable for a further northward advance of the leading edge of monsoon conditions across the Bay of Bengal and into the northeastern Indian states during the coming several days.
Here in the Dharamsala area, our average onset of official monsoon conditions normally occurs during the last few days of June -- so despite an increasing likelihood of occasional heavy downpours of rain as the month progresses, the REAL DEAL is still a few weeks away.
Total rainfall on Tushita Road just below the mountaineering center (in the upper part of town) since I left on the 20th of May has been 2.48" (6.3cm) -- most of that happening on two separate occasions, and the vast majority occurring during a very heavy downpour with hail last week. Thanks to my neighbor, Tom, for keeping an eye on the rain gauge (and keeping the monkeys away from it) in my absence.
In other news... there has been official monsoon onset declaration in south India, which is pretty much on schedule. Onset was declared in Kerala on the 1st of June, and as of today (5th June), the northern limit extended from the west coast of Maharashtra, south of Mumbai, through Hyderabad, and eastward through central Andhra Pradesh, well north of Chennai. Conditions are favorable for a further northward advance of the leading edge of monsoon conditions across the Bay of Bengal and into the northeastern Indian states during the coming several days.
Here in the Dharamsala area, our average onset of official monsoon conditions normally occurs during the last few days of June -- so despite an increasing likelihood of occasional heavy downpours of rain as the month progresses, the REAL DEAL is still a few weeks away.
