KOCHI: The state has received an excess of 31% summer rains till date from March 1. Experts say that this weather is likely to continue till the end of the month and give way to the onset of the southwest monsoon. Kasaragod received a maximum of 121% while Thiruvananthapuram had a deficiency of 24%. The India Meteorological department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall for the next two days and thundershowers and rains for next week.“During the recent three months, the surface temperatures of the Indian and Pacific oceans were warmer than normal in north of the equator and colder than normal in south of the equator, a condition indicative of early monsoon in Kerala ,” said atmospheric scientist P V Joseph.He said that another indicator was the earlier-thannormal occurrence of premonsoon rains over Kerala and the south Bay of Bengal during the second week of April. IMD’s forecast indicates that southwest monsoon will set in over Kerala one week earlier than normal in 2018.“The 100-year average data of monsoon onset over Kerala is June 1. It has set in as early as May 11 in 1918 and as late as June 18 in 1972,” Joseph said.Meanwhile, Skymet on Friday said that on and off rains would keep on drenching the state until the arrival of southwest monsoon. Most districts have been recording on and off pre-monsoon rains of varied intensity since the beginning of this month. Skymet weather bulletin said that a trough is extending from southeast Arabian Sea to north interior Karnataka across Kerala. As of now, as the weather system is likely to persist over the region, the intensity of rains is expected to increase over the state in the coming two to three days.“In the past few days, we are actually sensing a bit of summer temperatures because the rains are occurring in the evening or the night allowing us to rest in the night peacefully despite the sultriness,” said C K Rajan, weather expert.