CHENNAI: The depression which is left of cyclonic storm Ditwah weakened into a well-marked low pressure area over the North Tamil Nadu- Puducherry coasts early on Wednesday morning. It brought heavy rainfall to 46 places in the state and very heavy rains to six places; Ennore in Chennai received the highest rainfall of 15 cm.
On Thursday, heavy rain has been forecast for isolated locations in Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, and Ramanathapuram districts, as the system is expected to further weaken over the next 24 hours.
Anticipating heavy rain, Chennai Collector Rashmi Siddharth Zagade has declared one holiday for schools on Thursday. Schools in Tiruvallur will also remain closed on Thursday.
Chennai—particularly its northern parts—experienced heavy to very heavy rain from Tuesday night through much of Wednesday as the system moved inland. Between 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, the city received around 5 cm of rain, with an additional 1.7 cm recorded between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
According to the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, over the next 24 hours ending Thursday afternoon, Tiruvallur, Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, the Nilgiris, and Coimbatore may receive heavy to very heavy rain in some areas. During the same period, parts of Chennai may experience moderate to heavy rain, with the possibility of very heavy spells at one or two locations.
Weather blogger K. Srikanth noted that convection is likely to weaken, resulting in a gradual reduction in rainfall from Wednesday night.
Ennore recorded very heavy spells for the second consecutive day, while other northern Chennai neighbourhoods such as Wimco Nagar and Manali New Town received 12 cm and 11 cm respectively from 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Southern parts of the city were not far behind, with Medavakkam receiving 11 cm and Pallikaranai around 10 cm.
Parts of Ramanathapuram also received significant rainfall during the period from 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, with the observatory in Tondi recording 9.5 cm.