LUCKNOW, July 14 -- After a brief pause, the southwest monsoon is set to make a comeback across Uttar Pradesh this weekend. A fresh low-pressure area is expected to revive rainfall, starting from eastern districts before spreading westwards over the following days, weather officials said on Monday. A fresh low-pressure area is likely to develop around Thursday, reviving monsoon activity across Uttar Pradesh from Friday, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Lucknow, said. Rain is expected to begin in isolated parts of East UP before becoming widespread from Sunday and gradually extending to West UP. The intensity of the spell, however, is likely to remain lower than last week's. "A low-pressure area is expected to develop around Thursday. Rainfall will initially be confined to isolated parts of East UP before gaining momentum on Saturday and gradually advancing towards West UP," said Atul Kumar Singh, senior scientist at the RMC, Lucknow. The monsoon has weakened sharply over the past two days. Between 8:30 am on Sunday and 8:30 am on Monday, 58 of Uttar Pradesh's 75 districts recorded no rainfall, including 32 districts in West UP and 26 in East UP. The state received an average of 2.9 mm of rainfall during the period, with East UP recording 4.9 mm and West UP just 0.1 mm. Rainfall over the last 48 hours remained confined to the easternmost districts. Nichlaul in Maharajganj recorded the highest rainfall at 130 mm, followed by Pharenda (95 mm), Birdghat in Gorakhpur (92 mm), Trimohani Ghat in Maharajganj (89.4 mm), Gorakhpur (85.3 mm) and Nautanwa (65 mm). Explaining the recent lull, Singh said the depression that formed over the Bay of Bengal weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area after reaching southwestern UP before moving eastwards, leading to reduced rainfall across much of the state. Rainfall distribution continues to remain uneven. Five districts in West UP have recorded large excess rainfall and nine others are in the excess category, while 21 districts have received normal rainfall. However, 29 districts, including Lucknow, continue to record below-normal rainfall and 11 districts remain in the large deficient category, indicating that large parts of the state are still awaiting a sustained spell of monsoon rain....