Heavy to very heavy rain likely in Chennai, three other TN districts today

CHENNAI: Heavy to very heavy rain accompanied by thunder, lightning and strong winds of 40-50 kmph is likely at isolated places in Chennai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore and the Nilgiris on Monday (October 19), according to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai.

It has warned that a few places in Chennai could receive heavy rain, with occasional very heavy spells. The city is expected to remain generally cloudy, with a maximum temperature of 32-33 degree Celsius and a minimum of 24-25 degree Celsius.

Heavy rain accompanied by thunder, lightning and strong winds of 40-50 kmph is also likely in several other districts of Tamil Nadu, as well as Puducherry and Karaikal.

The rainfall activity is being influenced by an upper-air cyclonic circulation over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Tamil Nadu coast, with a trough extending to the northwest Bay of Bengal, the weather department added.

On Saturday night, the northeast monsoon entered an active phase, with several parts of the city witnessing heavy rains, leaving many localities inundated and causing traffic disruptions. North Chennai bore the initial brunt, recording between 6 cm and 10 cm of rainfall in less than an hour.

Following the overnight downpour, the weather department issued a red alert for Chennai on Sunday but later downgraded it to yellow, while issuing an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places across Tamil Nadu.

What is the rain forecast for Tamil Nadu in the coming days?

October 20: Orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain in isolated places in Theni, Tirunelveli and Madurai districts. Yellow alert for heavy rain in several other districts, including Chennai, Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Salem, Tiruchy and Kanniyakumari, as well as Puducherry and Karaikal.

October 21: Orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Madurai, Theni, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli and Dindigul districts. Yellow alert for heavy rain in Chennai and several other districts.

October 22: Yellow alert for heavy rain in several districts, including the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Theni, Madurai, Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari.

October 23: Yellow alert for heavy rain in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchy, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Dindigul and Madurai districts.

October 24: Yellow alert for heavy rain in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, Erode, Tiruppur, Namakkal, Tiruchy, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Madurai, Pudukkottai, Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts.

(The IMD classifies rainfall alerts as yellow for 6–11 cm, orange for 12–20 cm and red for over 20 cm of rainfall within 24 hours)