CHENNAI: One of the wettest Novembers ever finally came to an end on Monday, fittingly with a strong spell of showers that drenched people, filled potholes and prompted authorities to declare yet another holiday for schools and colleges. And going by the predictions of the weatherman, there could be more in store in the coming couple of days.
Much to the relief of the much-harried lot of Chennai, and no less for the administration, the showers were limited to two strong spells - one early in the morning before the peak hours, and the other during the evening peak hour, which caused discomfort but not severe disruptions as was the case all through this month.
In all, the city received 19 mm rains on Monday. In the next two days, chances of heavy rainfall across the State are high, said officials from the Regional Meteorological Department, Chennai.
“The trough over Southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas continues to persist, which is likely to cause rainfall for the next two days across the State and city,” said an official.
There were rains across the State during the day, with Kodavasal in Tiruvarur that received 12 cm, recording the highest. This was followed by Marakkanam (10 cm), Vanur in Villupuram, Tirupuvanam in Sivaganga, Vilupuram and Manamelkudi in Pudukkottai (9 cm) and a few other places including Thanjavur and Tiruvarur recording as much as 8 cm.
According to the stats kept by the Met department, the city has received over 1,140 mm rains. However, that is till November 25.
Private firm Skymet has put this figure at 1,218.6 mm till Monday morning. In other words, the showers that pounded the city in this one month have brought in a little less than thrice the average rainfall for the entire season, show a comparison of Met department and Skymet figures.
The story is similar from across the State this season, with Tamil Nadu as a whole realising nearly 50 per cent more than the normal mean.
The forecast says that rainfall would be widespread over the northern part of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, but only a few places in the South in the coming days. “The sky would be overcast, with few spells of rain and thunderstorm occurring in some areas and heavy rains in some,” said the weathermen.