The Hindu Business Line : Rains splatter central TN, eye Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, March 13 The core of the rain belt that battered the central Tamil Nadu districts for a second day on Wednesday has since moved west and is targeting the hills and plains of adjoining Kerala.

Tamil Nadu continued to report some heavy to heavy rainfall during the 24 hours ending Thursday morning, led by Chidambaram (19 cm); Sirkali and Parangipettai (13 cm each); Karaikal (11 cm), Nagapattinam (10 cm) and Kattumannarkoil (9 cm), in that order.

The Chennai Regional Met Centre said rainfall occurred at many places over Kerala and at a few places over Tamil Nadu and coastal Karnataka until Thursday morning. Isolated rainfall occurred over south interior Karnataka.

Its outlook said rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at many places over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Kerala and at a few places over north Kerala. Isolated rain or thundershowers are likely over south coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, coastal and south interior Karnataka.

A warning issued separately said isolated heavy rain is likely to occur over Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the next two days. An update by India Met Department (IMD) said that the fairly widespread rain/thundershowers activity in the south peninsula is likely to continue for another four to five days.

WESTERLY TROUGH

The southern and northern districts of Tamil Nadu have been spared, but international models continue to predict occasional flare-ups as prospective easterly waves break up over the State during the week ending March 20.

Meanwhile, in the north, a westerly trough is moving in an eastward direction across the hilly regions of northwest India. An induced cyclonic circulation is following the parent along a southwest track, and has been creating some weather over parts of Gujarat and adjoining Rajasthan.

The system was headed for a foray into west Madhya Pradesh, and is expected to cause isolated to scattered light rain or thundershowers over parts of northwest India, Gujarat, east Rajasthan and adjoining Madhya Pradesh over the next two days. Its eastward-bound drift will be marked only by a calibrated loss in moisture content, leading to weakening of the system.

The parent-sibling combine would cause isolated to scattered rain or snowfall over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and parts of west Uttar Pradesh.