Cyclone Burevi expected to cross coast in the early hours of Friday

IMD has issued orange alert for the south Tamil Nadu and south Kerala coasts

December 03, 2020 01:24 am | Updated 09:10 am IST - CHENNAI

Squally winds sweeping across the Pamban seashore on Wednesday.

Squally winds sweeping across the Pamban seashore on Wednesday.

Cyclonic storm Burevi is expected to be centred close to Pamban by Thursday noon, and may cross the south Tamil Nadu coast between Thursday night and the early hours of Friday. The system will begin to have an impact on the southern coastal districts from Thursday morning, says the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

On Wednesday, the IMD issued an ‘orange’ alert for the south Tamil Nadu and south Kerala coasts. The alert indicates that the authorities must be prepared for the approaching system. Its impact may start from Ramanathapuram district and gradually reach Kanniyakumari.

The name ‘Burevi’, given by the Maldives, means black mangroves in the Dhivehi language. The storm is expected to cross Sri Lanka’s coast by Wednesday night. It is likely to cross the south Tamil Nadu coast between Pamban and Kanniyakumari between Thursday night and the early morning of Friday as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph.

Showers till Saturday

The system will continue to maintain intensity as a cyclonic storm and weaken as a deep depression around Friday night.

IMD officials said the storm may trigger rainfall till Saturday. Most places in the State would receive rain. The spell may be heavy to very heavy at a few places and extremely heavy (above 24 cm) at one or two places till Friday.

Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari districts may get isolated extremely heavy rain on Thursday and Friday. Other districts such as Madurai, Theni, Dindigul and Virudhunagar are likely to get heavy to very heavy rain, up to 24 cm, at one or two places. Many weather stations in other districts may receive light to moderate rain, they said.

The IMD also warned of squally weather over Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram and Kanniyakumari with a wind speed of 70-80 kmph, gusting up to 90 kmph, on December 3 and 4. A storm surge of about 1 metre may inundate low-level areas in the south coastal districts.

Chennai may continue having a pleasant weather with the maximum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius. The city may receive light to moderate rain in some parts till Friday.

Officials noted that the weather system is likely to reduce the rainfall shortage in the delta and southern districts, including Thanjavur, Ramanathapuram and Kanniyakumari. The State’s overall average rainfall stands at 30.4 cm, 16% short of its seasonal normal, since October 1.

Meanwhile, the IMD’s bulletin indicates a cyclonic circulation over the Malay Peninsula. This may lead to the formation of a low-pressure area over the south Andaman sea around December 4. However, officials said they were monitoring the system, and the direction it would take and the impact it would have on Tamil Nadu would be clear once the system forms.

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