On Saturday, the city woke up to murky skies and light drizzle that offered respite from the high temperatures that prevailed during the week.
The pleasant weather will continue through the weekend, said meteorologists.
The weather stations recorded very little rains till 5.30 p.m. on Saturday but the overnight showers were enough to cool the city.
The day temperature in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam dropped drastically from 36.4 degrees Celsius on Friday to 30 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
According to officials of the meteorological department, convective activity triggered by weak Westerlies was responsible for the rains in several parts of the State.
Kancheepuram district recorded the highest rainfall of 11 cm on Saturday morning. While Tambaram received 2 cm, Meenambakkam registered 1 cm during the same period.
Y.E.A. Raj, deputy director general of meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said strong Westerlies in June and July did not usually result in much convective activity. Weak Westerly winds were, however, favourable to thunderstorms.
Chennai usually received a major share of the southwest monsoon in August rather than in June-July, Mr Raj said, adding, on an average, the city received 14 cm during this month. This year, the city has received 21 cm of rainfall since June.
Rains may continue in several parts of the State over the next two or three days.
There will be rains or thundershowers in Chennai too for two days.
Fruits cheaper
Meanwhile, vigorous monsoon activity in other States has resulted in more arrivals to the Koyambedu wholesale market. Fruits such as apple and mosambi are cheaper.
The price of apples from Himachal Pradesh dropped from Rs. 130 per kg last week to Rs. 60-Rs. 80 per kg in the wholesale market. Mosambi was priced at Rs. 25 per kg.
“Apples from Shimla were priced at Rs.100 today, cheaper by at least Rs. 30. This week, I bought more fruits than usual as some of them were affordable,” said S. Roopa, a resident of T. Nagar, on Saturday.
