CHENNAI: A weakened but near-stationary remnant of Cyclonic Storm Ditwah hovered just off the north Tamil Nadu coast on Tuesday, triggering another spell of very heavy rain over Chennai and its neighboring districts.
According to the forecast by the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai and nearby districts may only see light to moderate rainfall on Wednesday, while heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to shift to Nilgiris, Erode, and Coimbatore.
Schools and colleges in Tiruvallur and Chennai will remain closed on Wednesday, while schools in Chengalpattu will also remain closed.
As per an update issued late on Tuesday evening by the RMC, the remnant of Cyclonic Storm Ditwah, which weakened to a depression and remained near the Chennai coast after moving north-northwestwards, had begun moving south-southwestwards at a speed of 3 km per hour. It was centered about 60 km northeast of Puducherry and 80 km south of Chennai as of 5:30 pm on Tuesday. The minimum distance of the center of the depression from the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coasts was about 25 km.
The RMC stated that the system is likely to move slowly further southwestwards towards the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coasts and weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area by Wednesday morning.
The system’s sluggish movement and proximity to land fueled persistent feeder bands over Chennai since Monday noon. Many parts of the city recorded extremely heavy rainfall, with Ennore (26 cm), Parrys (25 cm), Ice House (22 cm), and Manali New Town and Ponneri (21 cm) topping the charts. Several other zones, including Perambur, Basin Bridge, Red Hills, Medavakkam, and Ayanavaram, recorded between 14 cm and 20 cm. On average, Chennai city recorded 13.45 cm of rain by Tuesday morning. Chennai's Nungambakkam observatory recorded an additional 1.7 cm from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm on Tuesday.
By Wednesday, as the system weakens further and drifts inland, the rain belt is expected to shift westwards. Nilgiris, Erode, and Coimbatore may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated areas, while isolated places in Theni, Dindigul, Tiruppur, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Salem, and Namakkal may receive heavy rains.