Thiruvananthapuram | Heavy rains lashed several parts of Kerala on Friday bringing a brief respite to the people of the state who have been reeling under the hot weather conditions and repeated power cuts for the last few days.

In the evening, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert in three districts -- Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod -- of the state.

It also issued a yellow alert in eight other districts of the state.

For Saturday, the weather agency has issued a yellow alert in the four northern Kerala districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod.

An orange alert indicates very heavy rainfall of 115mm to 204mm and a yellow alert means heavy rain between 64mm to 115mm.

The IMD also predicted possibility of rain with thunderstorms and strong winds of speeds ranging from 30 to 40 kilometer per hour at isolated places in Kerala between Friday and Sunday.