Rains likely in southern districts, but dry weather in rest of State

“Light rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Western Ghat districts, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Thoothukudi. Dry weather is likely to prevail over the rest Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal over the next 48 hours. Thunderstorms were seen in some of these areas on Friday,” said an official from the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.

According to a seasonal forecast issued by the India Meteorological Department for the season from March to May 2021, summer temperatures in Tamil Nadu in this period is expected to be lesser than usual. Land breeze in western districts may cause the temperatures to rise in the following weeks, while coastal districts will see average temperatures, say weather bloggers.

“Over the last two years across the Central Pacific Area, we have seen temperatures below normal owing to the influence of the El Nino. The temperatures last peaked in October 2020, before dipping again. Now, it is gradually warming up. Weather models indicate that the Pacific area will have below normal temperatures in the next six to nine months. However, we need to keep an eye out on the influence of the Indian Ocean for any pressures that may cause any changes in the future,” said weather blogger K Srikanth, who runs the page ChennaiRains.

According to another weather blogger Pradeep John, who runs the page Tamil Nadu Weatherman, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), a major tropical weather fluctuation, is expected to approach at the end of March, which may cause rains at the end of the month in southern districts. However, John added that more accurate predictions could only be given closer to the date.