More rain forecast next week

Warning of downpours remains for Bangkok and vicinity

More thundershowers are expected across Thailand between Sunday and Tuesday, with Bangkok and vicinity also warned of downpours, according to the Meterological Department.

In its outlook for the next seven days issued on Wednesday, the department said the weak southwest monsoon was prevailing over the North, Central Plains and South while southeasterly winds prevail across the Northeast and East.

From this weekend until Tuesday, a high-pressure system from China will extend to cover the upper North and upper Northeast, with the weak southwest monsoon prevailing over the Andaman Sea, the South and the Gulf.

Thundershowers with gusty winds and heavy rains will first occur in the North and Northeast, followed by the Central Plains, including Bangkok, and the East.

Rain is expected to continue beyond the period in the South, it said.

Forecasts by the government agency are being closely watched in light of what many saw as a failure to communicate the seriousness of weather conditions that have resulted in severe flooding in parts of Bangkok.

Actual events turned out to be more in line with a forecast issued on a Facebook page that the Meteorological Department said was being alarmist. 

The page (ที ลมฟ้าอากาศ or Weather) had 2 million followers as of Wednesday, compared with 800,000 a week ago.