One or two areas in south Tamil Nadu may get light rains for four days till Tuesday due to the presence of weather systems. However, other parts will largely remain dry and the day temperature is likely to increase in places including Chennai.
Chennaiites have been experiencing relatively warm weather for the past few days. On Friday, Chennai recorded a maximum temperature of 33 degrees Celsius, which is two degrees Celsius above normal for the period. Officials of the Meteorological Department said a cyclonic circulation lay over south Tamil Nadu and its neighbourhood at 900 m above the mean sea level. This would bring light rains in isolated areas of south Tamil Nadu.
N. Puviarasan, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, Chennai, said places like Chennai were experiencing a relatively warm weather because of clear sky and decrease in speed of easterly winds. The maximum temperature would oscillate by two degrees Celsius. But it would remain within 35 degrees Celsius in February. Dry weather would continue for a few more days.
Heavy rains rare
A study by a private weather blogging site has revealed that possibility of heavy rain spells in Chennai is less during the first half of the year. In the last 117 years, rainfall in Chennai has crossed 10 mm only for 300 days between January and May. In February, the city has received a maximum rainfall of 132 mm in a single day on February 24, 2000, and suburban train traffic was affected then.
K. Srikanth of Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam said there had been days when the city received heavy rain spells of rain. These were driven by weather disturbances like cyclonic storms. In 1943, a cyclonic storm that crossed the south of Chennai brought 215 mm of rain on May 17, the most recent one being 117 mm on May 18, 2016, when cyclone Roanu came close to the city. “But this is a rare phenomenon. We must not expect too much from the first half of the year and harness rainwater we get during the monsoon,” he said.
