A shift in wind direction is one of the meteorological shifts that must occur for the monsoon season to began. During the dry season the wind direction blows from the land towards the ocean. The wind shifts and the ocean winds blow on land during the monsoon season.
The land heats up during the dry season. In India the temperature can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. The hot air over land heats, expands and rises. As the air rises, the cooler, moist, heavy air from the cool ocean replaces the dry air. The cool air and the heated air come together to produce storms as the winds shift onshore.
Even with the monsoon season being a reoccurring annual event, predicting exactly when it will start and stop has left climatologist baffled. With variables such as land and sea temperature affecting the season, they have not been able to accurately predict when the rains will start, the duration or the quantity of rain that will fall.
Floods are a great concern for those living in areas of the world that receive the heaviest monsoon rains. Flooding is a common occurrence in the parts of India that receive the most torrential rains.Once scientist are more able to accurately predict monsoon rains and quantities, the fewer people will be in harm's way from flooding.