Race against the rain: With monsoons looming midweek, Thai cave rescue takes on urgency

Rescuers in Thailand are racing against predicted monsoon rains — that could kick up in the middle of this week — to free the remaining boys still trapped in a flooded cave.

Although eight boys have been rescued, four young soccer players and their coach still remain behind.

Fortunately, Thai authorities said the rain that fell late Sunday and early Monday did not change the water level in the cave in Mae Sai, Thailand, where the boys and coach are trapped.

Additionally, there was no heavy rain near the caves Monday morning, according to Jonathan Erdman, weather.com meteorologist, creating a break for rescuers who once feared the worst from monsoon rains.

But crews continue to work with the knowledge that additional monsoon rains could threaten the operation and put the remaining kids and their coach in peril.

Weather is a real danger for rescuers there since this is the heart of Thailand's rainy season, which runs from May through October, according to the Rough Guide to Weather.  The heaviest rain tends to fall in late summer.

More rain is in the forecast: "Additional showers and thunderstorms are expected to be around the area into the middle of the week," AccuWeather meteorologist Adam Douty said.

AccuWeather meteorologist Dave Houk said that "the afternoon and evening hours will be the most active for monsoon showers and thunderstorms the next few days, with no prolonged stretches of dry weather anticipated in the near future. Runoff from the surrounding higher terrain can further fill the caves below."

Though the rain itself is popularly called a "monsoon," the term scientifically means a seasonal shift in wind direction. The word monsoon is derived from the Arabic mausim, meaning "season," according to the American Meteorological Society.

Twelve boys, ages 11-17, and their 25-year-old coach hiked more than 2 miles into the labyrinth June 23, prompting a desperate search. They were found a week ago, but the heavy rains that flooded parts of the twisting array of tunnels have made their rescue treacherous.

Cox Media Group