Sharp showers on Thursday evening brought respite to the city, which has been reeling under the impact of hot weather for nearly a week. The rain, however, threw traffic out of gear on many arterial roads.
Many localities in north and central Chennai started receiving rainfall from around 3.30 p.m. According to Meteorological Department officials, Nungambakkam received 10.8 mm of rainfall during the 12 hours ending 8.30 p.m. The observatory in Meenambakkam received only 1 mm of rainfall.
As the rainfall was intermittent, there was not much water stagnation on the roads. The puddles were enough to slow down traffic on arterial roads such as Anna Salai, Poonamallee High Road and Jawaharlal Nehru Salai. As many two-wheeler riders were not prepared for the rain, they took shelter in the bus stand.
The officials attributed the rainfall to convective activity that follows a period of intense heat. The maximum temperature recorded in Nungambakkam was 38 degree Celsius on Thursday, which was two degree Celsius above the average. The temperature has been soaring above average for the past few days. Last year, the highest temperature recorded in June was 39.3 degree Celsius on the 5{+t}{+h} of the month. The department forecast that rain or thundershowers may occur on Friday and the maximum temperature would be around 37 degree Celsius.
