CHENNAI: As Cyclone Ditwah weakened into a depression and began drifting from Chennai, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) downgraded the red alert issued for Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram on December 2 noon. An orange alert, however, is in place for Chennai, Tiruvallur, Ranipet, Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu, while a yellow alert has been issued for Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Puducherry, Kallakurichi and Cuddalore.
According to the latest India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin, at 11.30 am, the depression over southwest and west-central Bay of Bengal was tracking south-southwestwards at about 8 kmph. At the time, the system was 60 km from Chennai and about 90 km from the Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coast.
It is expected to continue drifting slowly southwestwards towards the coast, maintain its intensity till today evening, and then weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area in the next 12 hours, the weather department said.
Meanwhile, the RMC said that on December 3, tomorrow, Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore may receive heavy to very heavy rain, while Theni, Dindigul, Tirupur, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Salem and Namakkal may receive a heavy spell at isolated spots.
It also forecast strong surface winds of 45-55 kmph over north coastal Tamil Nadu and neighbourhood today, easing to 35-45 kmph over isolated parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on December 3.