Winds have currently shifted to being northeasterly to easterly over Chennai where weather patterns are turning ahead of the anticipated onset of northeast monsoon.

Humidity levels have built up to beyond 60 per cent, and the Met Centre has warned of moderate thunderstorm activity until noon this morning.

THUNDERY WEATHER

‘Loud peals of thunder with frequent lightning flashes, moderate to heavy spell of rain with maximum wind speeds of 29- to 74 km/hr in gusts’ is the official forecast for the coastal metropolis.

A similar warning is valid for Tiruttani, Vellore, Mahabalipuram and Puducherry and also extends to parts of neighbouring coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Global models have also forecast a growingly wet weekend for Chennai and the neighbourhood as the countdown for northeast monsoon nears the end.

Meanwhile, remnant of erstwhile cyclone Hudhud has faded out in strength and relevance over the foothills of eastern Himalayas overnight.

RAIN IN EAST

It triggered heavy to very heavy rain over the region including Uttarkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Gangetic West Bengal as an itinerant western disturbance also joined the party.

Lucknow, Varanasi and Gorakhpur are the places which witnessed moderate to heavy showers overnight.

The rains will now spread out to northeast India over the next two days.

Over the south peninsula, the withdrawal process of southwest monsoon is yet not complete.

It is expected to pick up speed over the next couple of days as the buzz over the Bay of Bengal grows, sending in seasonal easterlies to herald the northeast monsoon.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW