CHENNAI: The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) on Wednesday lifted the orange alert that had earlier been issued for Chennai and neighbouring districts for Thursday, as the weather system over the Bay of Bengal weakened and lost momentum. However, officials have cautioned that heavy rains are likely to return to the region from October 26 (Sunday).
RMC Director B Amudha said the weather system would cross the north Tamil Nadu coast as a well-marked low-pressure area by Thursday morning and would not intensify into a depression. “It is sort of getting diffused,” she said, adding that heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
According to the latest forecast, the well-marked low-pressure area currently lies over the southwest Bay of Bengal, off the Tamil Nadu coast.
Periyakalapet records highest rainfall of 25cm
The well-marked low-pressure is expected to move northwestwards, likely crossing north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and south Andhra Pradesh coasts within the next 24 hours.
The northeast monsoon has remained vigorous over Tamil Nadu, bringing widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall across several coastal and interior districts since Tuesday night.
The coastal stretch from Cuddalore to Chennai bore the brunt of the overnight downpour, with several locations recording more than 15cm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8.30am on Wednesday.
Periyakalapet in Puducherry recorded the highest rainfall of 25cm, followed by Puducherry town (21 cm) and Bahour (19 cm). Other locations such as Vanur, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Uthukottai, and Kothavacherry reported between 17 and 18 cm of rain, while Ennore (Chennai), Avadi, Walajabad, and Parangipettai registered around 12–13 cm.
In Chennai, core city areas including Nungambakkam, Maduravoyal, and Valasaravakkam witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall between 8 and 10 cm, leading to waterlogging in low-lying areas and traffic snarls in parts of north Chennai and Guindy.
The India Meteorological Department’s seven-day forecast indicates that rainfall intensity will remain high over northern TN and Puducherry through the weekend, with intermittent heavy spells expected between October 22 and 25.
For Thursday, heavy rain has been forecast at isolated places in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Ranipet districts. On Friday, the focus of rainfall is likely to shift slightly southwards, with Cuddalore, Villupuram, Chengalpattu, and Puducherry expected to experience heavy showers.
