With around 120–140 rainy days per year,[29]: 80 Kerala has a wet and maritime tropical climate influenced by the seasonal heavy rains of the southwest summer monsoon and northeast winter monsoon.[30] Around 65% of the rainfall occurs from June to August corresponding to the Southwest monsoon, and the rest from September to December corresponding to Northeast monsoon.[30] The moisture-laden winds of the Southwest monsoon, on reaching the southernmost point of the Indian Peninsula, because of its topography, divides into two branches; the "Arabian Sea Branch" and the "Bay of Bengal Branch".[31] The "Arabian Sea Branch" of the Southwest monsoon first hits the Western Ghats,[32] making Kerala the first state in India to receive rain from the Southwest monsoon.[33][34] The distribution of pressure patterns is reversed in the Northeast monsoon, during this season the cold winds from North India pick up moisture from the Bay of Bengal and precipitate it on the east coast of peninsular India.[35][36] In Kerala, the influence of the Northeast monsoon is seen in southern districts only.[37] Kerala's rainfall averages 2,923 mm (115 in) annually.[38] Some of Kerala's drier lowland regions average only 1,250 mm (49 in); the mountains of the eastern Idukki district receive more than 5,000 mm (197 in) of orographic precipitation: the highest in the state.