Vanakkam! Light thunderstorms struck this morning along the coast to the South of Chennai over Siruseri and Kelambakkam as a potential head of an incoming batch of thunderstorms looked to hit the stretch from North Ramapuram, including Chennai city.

At around 8.45 am, heavier thunderclouds filled the skies closer to South Chennai from Periyar Nagar, Parvathi Nagar, Panayur, Jappier Nagar, Marai Malai Nagar, Thiruporur, Chengalpattu, Mahabalipuram, and Karunguzhi. Isolated storms posed just outside Nar Singa Puram, Chennai proper and Royapuram with a long tail reaching into the South-East Bay of Bengal.

Into the immediate interior, swarms of thunderstorms swooped down over Marakkanam, Tindivanam and Gingee and erupted over the swathe between Pennathur, Polur and Chengam. This came about on a day after rains had taken a break over large parts of Chennai and Puducherry on Monday.

Chennai: 10 to 20 per cent chance of rain

Chennai woke up to partly cloudy/cloudy conditions this morning with a 10-20 per cent possibility of rain, as assessed by international models. But the winds have since turned south-easterly (from being north-easterly) and therefore bristle with a renewed supply of moisture. They were less endowed earlier in the morning and headed predominantly to the South-West aiming at Central and South Tamil Nadu, the Palk Strait/Gulf of Mannar and Sri Lanka.

A band of these winds also curled around the peninsular tip and Kanyakumari to feed into the prevailing low-pressure area over the Lakshadweep area, which the India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects to become a depression. Further towards the West in the Arabian Sea (and closer to the Africa coast) lies a depression, which should go on to become a cyclone along the Somalia (East Africa) and Yemen coasts over the next two days.

IMD forecast

The IMD has forecast fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places over the rest of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal; Kerala; and Lakshadweep and heavy rainfall at isolated places over South Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Coastal and South Interior Karnataka today under the combined effect of the two systems.

The situation would have been entirely different for Chennai and its neighbourhood if this alignment had been in place a week ago. But the steering global band of rain and thundershowers (inter-tropical convergence zone, which dictates the precise latitudes where an ongoing monsoon is active) has started its seasonal movement more towards South Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. No wonder, the IMD has signalled a likely reduction in rainfall over Peninsular India from today.

To read this report in Tamil, click here

Chennai International Airport (MAA/VOMM)

The city’s airport had foggy conditions to start with, temperature at 28 degrees Celsius at 9.15 am and winds south-easterly. As for other major cities, Madurai and Thoothukudi in the South naturally held a definite edge in terms of the possibility of rain, with an elevated 80 per cent likelihood for today. It could be in the region of 40 per cent for other cities, including Puducherry, though it will be cloudy to start with.

Fishermen cautioned

The IMD has warned of squally winds reaching 40-50 km/hr in speed and gusting to 60 km/hr in the Comorin-Maldives areas, Gulf of Mannar, and the South-West Bay of Bengal along and off the south Tamil Nadu coast for today in view of the brewing cyclone and depression combo in the Arabian Sea.

The seas will be rough to very rough (wave heights of 8-13 ft) over the Comorin-Maldives areas, Gulf of Mannar, and the South-West Bay of Bengal during this period. Fishermen are also advised not to venture into the Lakshadweep area and adjoining South-East Arabian Sea, along and off the Kerala and Karnataka coasts, Comorin-Maldives areas, Gulf of Mannar, the South-West Bay of Bengal along and off the South Tamil Nadu coast.

Chennai’s bloggers and Tweeple have been giving accounts of the current thunderstorm activity/rain over Chennai and its neighbourhood and into the interior of Tamil Nadu:

 

 

 

 

 

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