CHENNAI: The Southwest Monsoon officially set in over Kerala on Thursday and advanced into parts of Tamil Nadu, with the weather department forecasting widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall across several districts over the coming days.
The department has predicted light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph at a few places across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal until June 8.
Heavy to very heavy rain has been forecast at isolated places over Kanniyakumari, the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts. Heavy rain warnings have also been issued for Theni, Dindigul, Tiruppur, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Sivaganga, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai, Pudukkottai, Salem, Tiruvannamalai, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Villuppuram, Vellore, Ranipet, Erode, the ghat areas of Tenkasi and Tirunelveli, besides Puducherry and Karaikal.
The rainfall is expected to intensify further during the weekend. On June 6, heavy to very heavy rain is likely over the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Kanniyakumari, Theni and Dindigul districts, while heavy rain is forecast over Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Tirupattur, Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruppur, Madurai, Virudhunagar and the ghat areas of Tenkasi and Tirunelveli.
On June 7, heavy to very heavy rain is likely over the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Theni and Kanyakumari districts, while heavy rain is expected over Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Virudhunagar and the ghat areas of Tenkasi and Tirunelveli.
Heavy rainfall is likely to continue over parts of western and southern Tamil Nadu on June 8, 9 and 10, particularly over the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Theni, Kanniyakumari and the ghat areas of Tirunelveli and Tenkasi.
The monsoon arrives amid active rainfall over southern districts. During the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Thursday, Nalumukku in Tirunelveli recorded 87 mm rainfall, the highest in the State, followed by Oothu, at 80 mm.
However, Chennai continued to scorch; it recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state at 40.3°C on Thursday, even as temperatures showed a falling trend over parts of interior TN. The RMC has warned that high temperatures combined with humidity could continue to cause discomfort over coastal districts on Friday.
For Chennai, the weather department has forecast a maximum temperature of 38-39°C under generally cloudy skies. Light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and isolated heavy spells are likely.
The RMC said maximum temperatures are likely to gradually fall by 2-4°C across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal by June 8.