CHENNAI: WITH the political scene in the city expected to heat up on Thursday when the State Assembly election results are declared, expect the weather also to get a tad warmer.
The deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, which induced heavy rains over the past two days, is expected to move further north towards the Andhra-Odisha coast. It means rainfall in Chennai and other northern parts of Tamil Nadu will gradually subside and may not last beyond Thursday, the Meteorological Department said.
“The deep depression is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm and move towards the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Under its influence, there may be a few spells of moderate to heavy rainfall in one or two places in northern and coastal Tamil Nadu,” said S Balachandran, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre.
While this may bring respite to Andhra Pradesh, which has been reeling under drought, it also signals the return of surging mercury levels in the city.
The deep depression moved past the city during the wee hours of Wednesday, about 80 km from the shoreline. It is now said to be around 170 km southeast of Nellore and is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm — the first in this summer season.
The deep depression had helped dump more than 15 cm of rainfall on the city in the last three days, compared to the ‘normal’ 1.09 cm for this period.
Areas such as Kelambakkam on the OMR received as much as 22.6 cm of rainfall over a 24-hour period. Only three districts in Tamil Nadu — Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Erode — received deficient rainfall.
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