CHENNAI: The second bout of heavy downpour this monsoon is round the corner as weather models predict an action-packed week starting this Sunday night. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, in its five-day outlook, has already put out a heavy rainfall warning for coastal Tamil Nadu.
The new low pressure formed in the Bay of Bengal, which is seen as a remnant of past typhoon Damrey, is on course to the Andamans and the Tamil Nadu coast. Currently, the system is over the Southeast Bay of Bengal with associated cyclonic circulation extending upto 4.5 km above mean sea level.
S Balachandran, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, told Express that clouds were seen travelling to the Tamil Nadu coast. “We are tracking this system closely. We have to wait and monitor. There are a lot of factors like how far the low pressure is travelling and reorganising and how close it is coming towards us. In another day or two, there will be clarity. Light to moderate rain is expected over the next two days,” he said.
Weather expert Pradeep John said it was a broad low pressure and that means it is very elongated. “The active spell for most of north Tamil Nadu will start from Sunday and some bands over the coastal regions will arrive by Saturday itself. Again, Chennai will face most of the action with its location perfectly placed.”
To a query, John said the IMD models were not predicting that the low pressure would intensify into a cyclone, but some of the American models were forecasting a cyclone formation.