The northeast monsoon arrived over coastal areas and south interior Tamil Nadu on Thursday. It is likely to spread to north interior areas and adjoining parts by Friday.
The monsoon, delayed by over 10 days, brought widespread rainfall to coastal areas and parts of south Tamil Nadu, which was heavy in some areas, on Wednesday night. Puzhal received 11 cm of rain, the highest in the State, in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday.
Weather stations in places such as Kelambakkam (10 cm), Periyanaickenpalayam in Coimbatore district and Perundurai in Erode district registered 9 cm of rainfall.
Meteorological department officials said a trough of low pressure lies over southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lanka.
Moreover, a cyclonic circulation persists over south Tamil Nadu and the neighbourhood. This is expected to trigger rainfall over the State till the weekend.
Outlook for two days
S. Balachandran, Deputy Director General of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said the moisture in the air needs to reach the interior parts and some pockets may receive only light rain. Many places are expected to receive moderate rains on November 2 and 3.
The rainfall may be heavy in some of the coastal areas. Chennai will experience intermittent spells of rain or thundershowers in some areas till Saturday. A study by weather bloggers of ‘Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam’ says a delayed monsoon may bring relatively less rain.
