CHENNAI: It did not rain on Tuesday as previously forecast, but hold onto your umbrellas. IMD has retained the orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall (12cm to 20cm) for the city and its neighbouring districts on Wednesday.
This is because the low-pressure area over central parts of the south Bay of Bengal may intensify and move towards Tamil Nadu coast in the next two days. Rain activity may continue on Thursday as a yellow alert for heavy rainfall was issued for city and neighbours.
“On Wednesday, the city and suburbs may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning. The sky may be generally cloudy. Temperatures may be at a maximum of 27C-28C and a minimum of 23C-24C,” said an IMD bulletin. Surface winds may be strong and gusty at times with speeds reaching 35kmph to 45kmph over north coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and the Karaikal area.
On Tuesday, a cloudy day was followed by a cold breezy evening. Temperatures dropped to 20.8°C in Ennore and 23°C in Nungambakkam at around 9 pm. Experts said the system moving towards Tamil Nadu coast was pushing cold winds into the land.
Blogger Pradeep John said the rain forecast varies with weather models, but there was a 90% chance for heavy spells on Wednesday.
“There is a chance for rainfall from morning till night,” he said.
With 97 cm of rainfall since Oct 1, the city is inching towards hitting a century this northeast monsoon season.
The city has an excess rainfall of 28%. Chengelpet has a 3% excess, Tiruvallur 32%, and Kancheepuram 8%. Since Oct 1, Tamil Nadu recorded 56 cm of rainfall, around 36% excess.
