ALOR STAR: The peninsular west coast and rural areas are expected to experience evening thunderstorms and strong winds from Sunday to Thursday due to the monsoon transition.
Kedah Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) director Muhammad Khalil Abd Aziz said this is based on the formation of a tropical depression in the Pacific Ocean, which is expected to move towards the northwest nearing Taiwan.
"The system is expected to escalate into a tropical thunderstorm within 24 hours. It is expected to influence the wind and weather pattern in Malaysia, especially the peninsular west coast which is expected to get more humid from Sept 29 until Oct 2.
"During the monsoon transition, weak winds blowing from all directions will stimulate thunderstorm incidents leading to heavy rainfall and strong wind for short periods in the evening, especially in the west coast and rural areas of the peninsular, west of Sabah and Sarawak during the period," he said when contacted today.
Meanwhile, the flood situation in Pendang - the only district in Kedah which has yet to recover fully - continued to improve with more evacuees being allowed to return home today.
The Kedah Disaster Management Committee Secretariat said the number of evacuees in Pendang has declined from 562 yesterday evening to 225 as of 4pm today, with six temporary flood relief centres (PPS) closed.
The remaining 225 evacuees from 54 families are sheltering at the Tanah Merah Sports Complex and SMK Pendang.
Six other floor relief centres in Pendang, namely SMK Haji Mohamad Ariff, SK Tanah Merah, SMK Tanah Merah, Sekolah Model Khas Bukit Jenun, SMK Ayer Puteh Dalam and SMK Syed Ibrahim have been deactivated after the evacuees were allowed to return home.