LUCKNOW, July 21 -- Widespread monsoon activity is expected across the state, resulting in heavy rainfall, as the well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal weakens, the weatherman said. Consequently, the monsoon is now positioned near its normal location, extending from Sri Ganganagar through Rohtak, Hardoi, Varanasi, Daltonganj, Purulia, and Digha to the northeastern Bay of Bengal, said Atul Kumar Singh, a senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Lucknow. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange alert sounding a high probability of heavy to very heavy rainfall in 18 districts including Banda, Kannauj, Kanpur Dehat, Aligarh, Mathura, Kasganj, Etah, Agra, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jhansi, and surrounding areas. It also issued a Yellow alert for a high probability of heavy rainfall in 45 districts. There's a likelihood of thunderstorms and lightning strikes is high in 58 districts including Lucknow, Barabanki, Rae Bareli, Amethi and Kanpur Dehat and City. The forecast for Tuesday is overcast sky with few spells of rain/thundershowers. The maximum and minimum temperature will be around 27 and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively. Continuous heavy rainfall since late on Saturday night, coupled with a fresh weather warning issued by the Meteorological Department, has disrupted normal life across Bahraich district, which received 74.4 mm of rain in 24 hours. District magistrate Akshay Tripathi ordered the closure of all schools from Classes 1 to 8 for two days-July 21 and 22-as a precautionary measure. BSA Ashish Kumar Singh subsequently directed all government, aided and private schools affiliated with every education Board to strictly comply with the order. The continuous rainfall in Bahraich and the adjoining regions of Nepal has significantly increased the flow into the Saryu river. After nearly 1.70 lakh cusecs of water was released from the Chaudhary Charan Singh Girijapuri Barrage on Sunday, the river's water level began rising rapidly. At Elgin Bridge, the Ghagra is flowing just 46 centimetres below the danger mark, with the level increasing at the rate of about two centimetres per hour. During the last 24 hours, Uttar Pradesh received 18.3 mm rainfall in a single day, with East UP receiving 20.7 mm and West UP receiving 14.8 mm. From June 1, UP recorded 204.2 mm of rainfall against a normal of 266.2 mm, a deficit of 23%. In the last 24 hours, Baheri (Bareilly) received a maximum of 174 mm, Muhammadi (Kheri) 160 mm rain, Bilaspur (Rampur) 152.4, Pawayan at Shahjahanpur 150.3 mm and Mahsi in Bahraich saw 127 mm rainfall....