CHENNAI: A cyclonic storm is brewing in the Bay of Bengal and is expected to bring copious rain to the water-starved southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
The Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai on Wednesday said a depression has formed over the Comorin area and adjoining Sri Lanka, about 30 km northwest of Galle in Sri Lanka and 340 km southeast of Kanyakumari.
This system is very likely to move westwards and intensify further into a deep depression by Thursday. Though the officials were not willing to mention the word cyclone, private weather experts say the system will eventually take the shape of a cyclone probably by Thursday night or Friday and will come close to the Kanyakumari coast.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies the low pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal and in the Arabian Sea into seven categories. Low pressure areas with maximum sustained surface wind speeds between 31 and 61 kmph are called tropical depressions. Once the winds around the low pressure area reach at least 62 kmph, it is called a tropical cyclone and is assigned a name. The current system is intensifying rapidly. As per the IMD wind warning, squally winds would reach 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph along and off south Tamil Nadu during the next 48 hours.
S Balachandran, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said southern districts such as Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar will get heavy to very heavy rainfall till December 1. For north coastal Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, the skies would be generally cloudy and light to moderate rain can be expected.
Another depression kicking-in
The trough of low pressure over the Malay Peninsula and neighbourhood is persisting and is likely to develop into a low-pressure area over Malay Peninsula and adjoining south Andaman Sea during the next 24 hours. This system is likely to trigger a wet spell for the north coastal districts of TN, including Chennai, around December 4.