�Laila\' brings rain ahead of monsoon

The skies opened up over the State ahead of schedule. Its �Laila, a severe cyclonic storm, which was formed over the west-central and adjoining southwest of the Bay of Bengal, that has brought rain in advance to the State. Kerala still has to wait for nearly 10 more days for the onset of the Southwest monsoon, according to weathermen.

Kochi too had its share of rain during the past few days. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) data, Kochi received 20.8 mm rain during the past 24 hours. The rainfall figures for the week ending May 19 was 17 mm.

The IMD has predicted that �the date of onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala is likely to be on 30th May with a model error of four days. It means that on any day from May 26, the �Edavapathy rain can set in. As per the Malayalam calendar, �Edavapathy (mid-Edavam) falls on May 29 this year.