Weather experts flag radar glitches

However, officials from the Meteorological Department played down the issue, stating that there were only occasional maintenance issues.

Weather radars are required to gain more information about precipitation and the type of expected rainfall. It will also capture data on cyclones and send forecast. But the Doppler radar in the city is reportedly slow, leading to irregular weather mapping.

When contacted, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) director S Balachandran said the instrument was being used as per the requirements, and there were only occasional maintenance issues that are addressed immediately.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall warning has been issued for the next 48 hours at isolated places over south Tamil Nadu including Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli.

After a break of more than a week, the city is expected to receive light to moderate rain during this period. Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Tirupur, Coimbatore, The Nilgiris, Salem, Erode, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari and Virudhunagar, too, might receive light to moderate rains in the next 48 hours.