CHENNAI: This summer has not been so cruel for Chennaites with temperature remaining below normal and not breaching 37 degrees Celsius even once. But all this could change later this week with a monstrous cyclone brewing in the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to trigger a heatwave in Tamil Nadu.
Officials at the regional meteorological centre here said there hasn't been a consensus among weather models on where the system is heading. As of now, the landfall is likely somewhere between Burma and Bangladesh.
Area Cyclone Warning Centre director N Puviarasan told The New Indian Express that currently it is only an upper air cyclonic circulation. "A low pressure area is very likely to form over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining Andaman Sea during next 48 hours. It is likely to become more marked over central parts of south Bay of Bengal during the subsequent 48 hours. Conditions are likely to become favorable for advance of Southwest Monsoon into some parts of southeast Bay of Bengal, south Andaman Sea & Nicobar islands around May 16th."
Whether Tamil Nadu will receive rains or experience dry weather will be determined by how the system develops and the path it takes. "If the storm does not come reasonably close to Tamil Nadu or any part of the east coast and moves towards Bangladesh, the temperature in Tamil Nadu will see a sharp rise. We will have a clear picture in the next 2-3 days," Puviarasan said.
Weather blogger Pradeep John said the formation of a severe cyclonic storm is more or less confirmed.
"What has to be seen is where the landfall will occur. Till yesterday, it was showing Andhra Pradesh and today it's Burma and Bangladesh. If the cyclone moves away from the Tamil Nadu and Andhra coast and travels towards Burma as per the current prediction, it will suck up all the moisture from here and trigger a severe heatwave. I would not be surprised if the temperature touches 43 degrees in Chennai this weekend or early next week. All this is a probability but there may be a twist in the tale. We have to wait and watch," he said.