New Delhi, Aug. 10 -- The monsoon trough is gradually shifting to its normal position from the Himalayan foothills, setting the stage for widespread rain across northwest India over the coming week, the India Meteorological Department said on Saturday.

Saturday's heavy downpour in Delhi was directly linked to this shifting pattern, which is expected to bring isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh during the next seven days, IMD officials said.

"The monsoon trough is shifting towards its normal position. There is also a cyclonic circulation over Uttar Pradesh. Continued heavy rain over Delhi was because of these two features," said M Mohapatra, director general, IMD.

However, there may be temporary r...