<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; background-color: #ffffff;">India Meteorological Department, IMD has said, the rainfall over the country as a whole for this year's southwest monsoon season is most likely to be normal. With this announcement, the Department has kept its prediction of normal  monsoon unchanged in its second stage long range forecast. It has released the first stage forecast in April. Coming out with the second stage monsoon forecast, the IMD today said, quantitatively, the monsoon rainfall between June and September is likely to be 97 per cent of the Long Period Average with model error of plus or minus four per cent.  </div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; background-color: #ffffff;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; background-color: #ffffff;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; background-color: #ffffff;">The monsoon is considered normal if the average rainfall is between 96 to 104 per cent of long period average The  IMD said, region wise, the seasonal rainfall is likely to be 100 per cent  over North-West India, 99 per cent over Central India, 95 per cent of LPA over South Peninsula and 93 per cent of Long period average  over North-East India. The monthly rainfall over the country as whole is likely to be 101 per cent of its Long period average during July, and 94 per cent  during August — both with a model error of plus or minus 9 per cent.</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />