<br/>South-west monsoon on Friday inched forward bringing rains to Bihar but a rapid advance over northwest-India and parts of Uttar Pradesh could be expected only next week.<br/> <br/> The annual seasonal rains ought to have reached Lucknow today but in absence of a strong monsoon pulse they have been lingering over central India for the past couple of days. <br/> <br/>Director, National Climate Centre, Pune, D Sivananda Pai said, there is a lag in monsoon and rains are expected to pick up momentum in the next two to three days. He said as of June 18, the country as a whole has received 97 per cent of normal rainfall and parts of centraland north-eastern India have been getting good showers. <br/> <br/>Weather scientists said that forecast models suggested a fresh monsoon pulse early next week which could set the stage for rapid advance of the seasonal rains into the north-western parts of the country. <br/> <br/>The weather office has forecast widespread rain or thundershowers over Konkan, Goa, coastal Karnataka, Gujarat Region, Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada regions till Monday. <br/> <br/>However, satellite imagery showed presence of rain-bearing clouds in the Arabian Sea indicating that heavy rains in the region than on the mainland. A prevailing western disturbance would bring scattered rain or thundershowers over Jammu and Kashmir till Saturday and would decrease thereafter.<br/> <br/>Forecast until Tuesday said that fairly widespread rainfall activity is likely to occur along west coast and over the North-eastern States. <br/>