CHENNAI: After being scorched by relentless heat when the mercury went beyond the highest in a decade, the metropolis received a break from the heat on Friday evening, only to face the deluge.
The weather took a drastic turn by the evening when it plunged sharply to a pleasant 26 degree Celsius from over 40 degree in the morning. To the city residents who have been experiencing a long week of dry heat, this was a respite.
According to the Regional Meteorological Department, the city has been seeing hot days for the past few days due to the Westerly Winds that have been delaying the onset of the sea breeze along the city coast. Today’s showers is due to convective activities of the winds, which would circulate moisture and heat from the land to clouds, bringing rain.
It started as a drizzle around 5 pm, soon gaining strength to become heavy rains that not only brought the temperature down, but also led to waterlogging and traffic jams across the city.
It also disrupted the 55th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championship. Athlets had to wait till the showers subsided to continue with the events in the evening.
According to the prediction by the met department, the city will see partly cloudy sky with chances of light rain in some areas over the next few days. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected be around 39 and 28 degree Celsius, respectively.