CHENNAI: Cloudy skies and light showers brought much-needed relief from the heat for Chennai residents on Saturday (July 4), with the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) forecasting similar weather conditions to continue through the weekend.

According to the RMC, light rain is likely over Chennai due to wind convergence over south coastal Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu. The city is expected to witness partly cloudy skies, with isolated light showers.

The cloudy weather led to a noticeable drop in daytime temperatures on Saturday. Nungambakkam recorded a maximum temperature of 32.2 degrees Celsius, and Meenambakkam registered 32.4 degrees Celsius (nearly 4 degrees below normal).

Confirming the forecast, VR Durai, scientist and director, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said, “Due to wind convergence over south coastal Andhra Pradesh and north TN, sky conditions will remain partly cloudy, and light rain is likely to occur in Chennai.”

For Sunday, the city’s maximum temperature is expected to be around 37 degrees, while the minimum is likely to be around 27 degrees.

The RMC said that the low-pressure area over the northwest Bay of Bengal, which formed on Friday, has intensified into a well-marked low-pressure area over the adjoining Odisha and West Bengal coasts. The associated cyclonic circulation extended up to 9.4 km above mean sea level and was likely to move west-northwestwards across north Odisha and north Chhattisgarh during the next three days.

Under its influence, light to moderate rain is likely at isolated places over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on Sunday. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at one or two places.

“Maximum temperatures across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal are likely to remain normal to below normal on Sunday before returning to near-normal levels over the following couple of days,” the RMC stated.