Highlights

Rainfall Prediction: Up to 75 mm of fairly heavy rainfall is expected for the Central province from 23rd – 29th March while other provinces are expected to receive less.

Monitored Rainfalls: 3.60 mm average rainfall was experienced for the last week in the met stations, with max of 111 mm in Kegalle on 17 March.

Monitored  Wind: From 14th – 20th March, up to 3 – 6m/s South westerlies were experienced over the island.

Monitored  Temperature: Sea surface temperatures were neutral around the entire island.

Interpretation

Monitoring

Rainfall: During the last two weeks, there had been heavy rainfall over the following province:
Sabaragamuwa

Meteorology stations were recorded 3.6 mm of average daily rainfall and the Rainfall max: 47.2mm & Rainfall min:0mm for entire island for the last week.

The mean of annual rainfall = 23.49 mm
Recorded average rainfall for the week of 14th – 21st March = 3.60 mm
Meanwhile the Hydro Catchment Areas were recorded 6.52mm of average rainfall for the last week range Rainfall max: 79.7mm & Rainfall min: 0 mm.

Wind: Southwesterly winds prevailed in the sea area surrounding the island last week.

Temperatures: The temperature anomalies were below normal for the Northern half and near-neutral for the rest of the country, driven by the warm SST’s.

Prediction

Rainfall: During the next week (23rd – 29th March) fairly heavy rainfall is predicted for Central province.

Temperature :The temperature remains slightly above normal in the Northern province during 25th
March – 2nd April.

Teleconnections:

La Nina – The SST forecast indicates that La Niña is favored to continue into the Northern Hemisphere summer (June-August 2022).
MJO shall neutral during 23rd – 27th March; and slightly enhance the rainfall during 28th March – 6th April.

Seasonal Precipitation:

The precipitation forecast for the April-May-June season shows above-normal precipitation for the island, while some parts of the southern province remain neutral.

Terminology for Rainfall Ranges