Coastal areas to receive rain

Coastal areas of Tamil Nadu will continue to receive rainfall over many places till Friday. However, the movement of the weather system over southeast Bay of Bengal will determine the intensity of rainfall in the next few days, meteorologists said.

Ponneri recorded the highest amount of rainfall at 8 cm followed by Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district at 6 cm in the past 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday. Strong easterly winds are bringing rains to the coastal areas and this would continue on Thursday as well, Meteorological Department officials said.

Chennai received intermittent showers throughout Wednesday. While an overcast sky helped in bringing down the maximum temperature to 30.9 degree Celsius in the city, weather observatories in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam received only 2 mm and 6 mm of rain respectively till 6 p.m.

Officials said the same weather pattern would continue on Thursday and many coastal areas are likely to receive rain or thundershowers. A few interior districts would also receive rainfall.

According to S. Balachandran, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, Chennai, the well-marked low pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal is expected to move northwestward, become a depression and intensify further. It has not directly influenced the rainfall so far. “We are monitoring the system. Rainfall over the State in the next few days will depend on the movement and wind speed and intensity of the weather system,” he said.

Chennai will receive a few spells of rain or thundershowers on Thursday. “We could get anywhere between 2 cm and 4 cm of rainfall in Chennai on Thursday,” he said.

Chennai has recorded 31.4 mm of rainfall, which is short of 270 mm for the season, since October 1.