Expect heavy rain to continue in Chennai, districts till tomorrow: RMC
The overnight showers in the city led to flooding in several neighbourhoods and the uprooting of a tree on Fifth Street in Trustpuram, Kodambakkam. Ennore received 12 cm
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CHENNAI: Heavy rain lashed Chennai, Puducherry, and several coastal districts of Tamil Nadu over the past 24 hours. It was triggered by multiple weather systems over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, said a depression had formed over the southeast Arabian Sea, while another system was likely to develop over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal off the north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts within the next 12 hours.
RMC’s latest forecast predicted that heavy rain was likely at isolated places over Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Ranipet on Wednesday. Similarly, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Chengalpattu districts and Puducherry were expected to receive heavy rain on October 24.
“Between October 26 and 28, heavy rain is likely at isolated places over Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Ranipet, and Cuddalore districts, as well as Puducherry,” the RMC statement said.
The overnight showers in the city led to flooding in several neighbourhoods and the uprooting of a tree on Fifth Street in Trustpuram, Kodambakkam. Ennore received 12 cm, while Nerkundram and Maduravoyal recorded 11 cm, and Nungambakkam received 10 cm. Periya Kalapet in Puducherry recorded the highest rainfall of 25 cm, followed by Puducherry town (19 cm) and Vanur in Villupuram district (18 cm).
The RMC stated that the low-pressure area over the southwest Bay of Bengal off the TN coast moved northwestwards across north TN, Puducherry, and south Andhra Pradesh coasts, and lay centred over north coastal TN and adjoining areas on October 22. The system is likely to continue moving west-northwest across north TN and south Andhra and weaken into a low-pressure area over the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the depression over the southeast Arabian Sea moved northwards at a speed of 7 km/h and centred around 620 km west-southwest of Aminidivi (Lakshadweep) and 980 km southwest of Panjim (Goa) on October 22. It’s expected to move northwards and later recurve north-northeastwards within the next 24 hours.
Intermittent rain with isolated heavy spells is likely to continue over north coastal districts, including Chennai, Tiruvallur, and Kancheepuram till Thursday evening. Rainfall activity is expected to gradually reduce over the delta districts such as Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, and Cuddalore.
Weather blogger Pradeep John observed that rain bands shifted from the Cuddalore-Puducherry belt towards Chennai, resulting in intense showers over the city and its suburbs. “Tiruvallur could witness heavy spells through the day, while southern districts, including Kanniyakumari, might experience significant rainfall due to the ‘pull effect’ of the low-pressure system,” he opined.