12 districts set for heavy rains; cool relief for Chennai: RMC

CHENNAI: The Regional Meteorological Centre on Monday issued a heavy rain alert for 12 districts of Tamil Nadu, while Chennai residents can expect moderate rainfall with thunderstorms. The showers, while bringing relief from the summer heat, are expected to be sporadic.

Addressing newspersons, B Amudha, the head of the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) Chennai, said an upper cyclonic air circulation is likely to form over the middle eastern Arabian Sea on May 21. Further, it will move northwards and may deepen into a low-pressure area the next day.

Amudha said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places over the Nilgiris and heavy rain at isolated places over Coimbatore, Tirupur, Theni, Dindigul, Erode, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Tirupattur, Vellore, Ranipet and Tiruvannamalai districts. From May 20 to 25, light to moderate rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal. Gusty winds will blow with a speed reaching 40-50 kilometres per hour with thunderstorms and lightning.

Chennai may receive light to moderate rainfall at isolated places on May 20, and the sky condition will be partly cloudy. The maximum temperature will vary between 33-34 degrees Celsius for the next few days, and the temperature may increase gradually later, said Amudha.

She also noted that atmospheric and oceanic conditions remain favourable for the further advancement of the monsoon over additional parts of the south Arabian Sea, the Maldives-Comorin region, the south and central Bay of Bengal, and portions of the northeast Bay of Bengal over the next two to three days.