CHENNAI: With the Northeast monsoon yet to withdraw, several parts of the State are witnessing moderate to heavy rainfall, which is unusual in January. Chennai and its surroundings, in particular, have received non-stop rainfall since Monday night. The Met office said this will continue till Wednesday.
This is among the highest rainfall the city has experienced in the last 100 years, said ‘Tamil Nadu Weatherman’ Pradeep John on his blog. The city received 145 mm of rainfall in a 15-hour window between Monday and Tuesday. In the 24 hours from 8.30 am on Tuesday, 83 mm is expected.
From Monday evening to Tuesday noon, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam weather stations in Chennai recorded rainfall of over 10 cm. Intense convective clouds were present over Chennai, Thiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram, and caused heavy to very heavy rainfall.
N Puviarasan, director of the area cyclone warning centre of the regional meteorological centre, said thunderstorms with moderate rain are likely over coastal and interior Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. “Heavy rain is likely at isolated places over Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Nilgiris and Tiruvannamalai districts of TN and Puducherry,” he said, and added that south Tamil Nadu will join the action from January 7.
The rainfall contained the maximum daytime temperature in the city at 23 degrees. The Met office said that over the next 48 hours, the maximum and minimum temperatures will be 29 degrees and 22 degrees respectively. Tamil Nadu’s average rainfall in January is 18 mm, and the State has already received over 25 mm. The unseasonal monsoon showers are likely to continue till January 12.