Pretty much most of us know as far as Southwest Monsoon in concerned Tamil Nadu is a rain shadow region and gets very little rains except for Isolated Thunderstorms from the remnant moisture that migrates across Peninsular India. So does it make sense to monitor Southwest Monsoon & look out for heavy rainfall numbers on the West Coast while we enjoy our day under sun, in some cases, under uncomfortable sun when most of the country enjoys these rains.
The answer is a resounding Yes because the prospects of the farming community is entwined with the performance of monsoon not just at the places where the rains occur but also at the lower riparian states. “ஆடி பெருக்கு” is a very important festival in Tamil Nadu when prayers is offered to rivers like Cauvery. Before the day of dams & reservoirs this festival coincided with the peak Southwest Monsoon when Cauvery fleew majestically bank to bank thanks to the rains in South Interior Karnataka region around Bhagamandala, Madikeri etc. It is in this context today’s post has been made. How strong rains in this region is going to be good news for the farming community of the delta region in Tamil Nadu. 
While monsoon has been fairly active along the coast of Karnataka it took some time for the surge to reach the Ghat areas of Shimoga, Madikeri etc. Monday / Tuesday saw the first possibly strong Monsoon rains in the interior areas with many places in Kodagu district receiving heavy rains. Bhagamandala, close to Talacauvery the source of Cauvery, received a very heavy 25 cms for 24 hours ending 8:30 AM, 29th June 2016. Similarly places like Napoklu, Madikeri also received heavy rains.
About 50 kms south Mananthavady in Wayanad district of Kerala also recorded a very heavy 27 cms of rainfall for the same period which will go a long way in helping storage at Kabini reservoir. It must be noted Kabini river joins Cauvery further downstream of KRS Dam which has the added advantage of the water reaching Mettur much before the upstream KRS Dam gets filled up. Kabini being a smaller dam normally gets filled up very early as compared to KRS Dam near Mysore.
The current Dam levels in Karnataka looks fairly bad with the first month of Southwest Monsoon coming to an end today. But the good news is if one looks at the inflows from the first serious day of rainfall in the catchment areas a few days of consistent rainfall could go a long way in replenishing the dam levels without any more delay.
The last couple of years Southwest Monsoon has been poor which is reflecting in the storage levels of the reservoirs in the Cauvery Basin of both Karnataka & Tamil Nadu. The situation created by poor rainfall can only be addressed by good rainfall we hope this year the monsoon provides bountiful so the storage levels get back to normal in order to ensure a good year all the way till the onset of next year’s Southwest Monsoon