Parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana continued to received summer showers while it was largely dry over Karnataka during the 24 hours ending Thursday morning.

The pattern of showers is showing an easterly bias from the peninsular tip and is expected to become more organised over Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh, according to global forecasts.

The showers could inch up along the East Coast to merge with a rain wave over Chhattisgarh-Odisha-Jharkhand-Bengal triggered by a western disturbance over North-West India.

The US Climate Prediction Centre is of the view that summer showers may continue to lash Kerala and adjoining South Tamil Nadu until March 20.

The US National Centres for Environmental Prediction sees thunderstorms over Kerala until March 24, with the central parts of the state witnessing heavier spells.

The spells may become more frequent over Tamil Nadu and stay until March 16, according to this forecast.

Meanwhile, North-West India and East India are variously in the midst of a major scale-up in snowfall and thunderstorm activity that will continue until the weekend.

South gains most

India Met Department (IMD) statistics show that an otherwise barren South Peninsula has made the smartest gains from March 1 to 8, recording excess rainfall of 127 per cent.

The Met subdivisions of Lakshadweep (1,079 per cent), Kerala (557 per cent) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (226 per cent) contributed most to these gains. South Interior Karnataka (250 per cent), Rayalaseema (141 per cent), and Tamil Nadu & Puducherry (127 per cent) followed.

But,as is typical of summer showers, their spatial distribution has disappointed.

As for the rest, Coastal Karnataka and North Interior Karnataka (-100 per cent each); Telengana (-92 per cent); and Coastal Andhra Pradesh (-70 per cent) have returned poor figures.