Heavy showers may shift to T.N.’s northern and delta districts for next 2 days, says Meteorological Department

Rain to continue in TN till weekend; 45 places receive heavy rain, 8 get very heavy rain. 9 districts incl. Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Thiruvarur & Thanjavur to record heavy rain on Sat. Light to moderate rain in some areas of Chennai till Sat. Rain deficit in TN reducing; 28.5 cm of rainfall so far, 10% less than usual.

With northeast monsoon in its vigorous phase, many places in the State are likely to receive rain of up to moderate intensity till the weekend. Heavy rain may shift to the northern and delta districts on Friday and Saturday.

The cyclonic circulation, which has moved from the east, lying off Kerala coast, will continue to trigger fairly widespread rain in the State till Sunday. Heavy rain pounded several districts on Thursday. In the past 24 hours, ending 8.30 a.m. on Thursday, 45 places received heavy rain, eight locations received very heavy rain and two places recorded showers of extremely heavy intensity, above 20.4 cm.

Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district received a whopping 37 cm of rainfall, which is the highest amount received during the past 24 hours, followed by Kil Kotagiri estate in the Nilgiris, with 24 cm.

The Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, has forecast that the heavy rain belt may shift to Tiruvallur, Ranipet, and Kancheepuram districts on Friday and cover more districts in the north and delta region on Saturday. Nine districts, including Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Thiruvarur, and Thanjavur may record heavy rain on Saturday. The Meteorological Department has forecast light to moderate rain in some areas of Chennai till Saturday.

S. Balachandran, Additional Director General of Meteorology, Chennai, said the department was also monitoring another weather system brewing over the south Andaman sea. A low-pressure area is likely to form over south Andaman sea around November 26 and intensify into a depression around Monday. The system is at a nascent stage and forecast on its impact on rainfall and direction will become clear in the coming days, he said.

On the torrential downpour in Coimbatore and the Nilgiris, Mr. Balachandran said there had been weather systems in the past that had dumped such intense rain in certain locations of the hilly region. Weather stations, such as Avalanche in the Nilgiris, had received such extremely heavy rain in a single day.

Consistent rainspells are bringing down rain deficit in the State. Tamil Nadu has registered 28.5 cm of rainfall so far, which is 10% less than its usual share of 31.6 cm since October 1. Chennai’s rain gap is also reducing owing to the rain this month, he added.