Happy Diwali!
Kyarr has now turned into a supercyclone , a rather unusual occurrence in the Arabian Sea, and its enormous power is pulling away clouds from even as far away as the Bay of Bengal towards the Arabian Sea, wiping the region clean. So, Chennaities, you should be able to burst those crackers at will today, without fear of Deepavali becoming a damp affair.
Otherwise, generally cloudy conditions with a light drizzle is the consensus forecast for today (Sunday) with dry conditions emerging towards the evening for Chennaiites.
It is possible that intermittent clouds and the odd shower may briefly shroud the perspective of Surya (the Sun God) riding his golden chariot pulled by seven horses as he scares away the demons of darkness.
Blogger @chennaiweather had tweeted that rain would “resume from #diwali day and will continue for 2-3 days #chennai”.
This came a day (Saturday) after blogger @chennai_updates assessed that “West and North-West of Chennai will get moderate to heavy spell today and most parts of the city will get a slight to moderate rainfall late night.”
Now, when and where thunderstorms can strike in a tropical country such as ours and as southern a city as Chennai (closer to the Equator) is something even the best forecasters around the globe struggle to do. And the Supercyclone Kyarr factor does not make this any easier.
Nighttime thunderstorms can be more unpredictable than even cyclones, while being just as fierce, unleashing flash floods, violent winds, and lightning.
The simple explanation is that warm air can hold more moisture than cool air. When the warmer air is cooled and the moisture condenses, it often rains in various amounts.
International forecaster AccuWeather has predicted intermittent clouds and only a 15 per cent chance for precipitation today, with the cloud cover half as dense as yesterday.
However, another international forecaster suspects light showers can occur in the city from noon and intermittently until 5 pm, beyond which it could get drier, into the evening.
A third international forecaster Meteologix.com agrees with this outlook, pointing to the possibility of light showers during the day, but getting progressively drier as the day wears on.
Indian counterpart Skymet Weather sees a less humid day offering respite for Chennaiites this Sunday with temperatures also more or less behaving.