Severe lightning advisory : Red alerts issued for 16 districts

Sri Lanka’s Department of Meteorology forecast an increase in rain from the afternoon of October 20, with showers or thundershowers likely in most parts of the country after 1 p.m. Newswire said the forecast was for conditions to intensify from that evening.

The department said some places in Northern, North Central, Central, Eastern, North Western and Uva provinces could receive around 100 millimetres of rain. Showers were also possible in the Northern and North Western provinces during the morning.

The forecast cited a developing disturbance in the lower atmosphere near Sri Lanka as the reason for the expected increase in showers. Lankadeepa separately attributed the expected heavy rain to El Niño, quoting the department’s director general; the other detailed reports describe the nearby atmospheric disturbance.

The department advised the public to take precautions against temporary, localized strong winds and lightning during thunderstorms. Rupavahini also reported that mist could occur before dawn in parts of Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.