The meteorological centre in Chennai has forecast light to moderate rain in Chennai and neighbouring districts on Friday.
As per the IMD forecast, light to moderate rain at many places with thunderstorm and lightning at one or two places is likely to occur over Tamilnadu, Puducherry and Karaikal area. Heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, Villupuram districts of Tamilnadu and Puducherry and Karaikal area.
IMD has advised fishermen to not to venture into Southeast Bay of Bengal till December 2, Southwest Bay of Bengal till December 4 and Westcentral Bay of Bengal from December 2 – December 5 morning. The fishermen out at sea have been advised to return to the coast by Friday.
According to reports, the low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a depression on Friday and is likely to become a cyclonic storm which will cross the coast between Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai around December 4 evening, the IMD said.
At 5.30am on Friday, the system lay centred over the sea about 800km away from Chennai, 970km from Machilipatnam, 990 km from Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh and 790 km away from Puducherry.
It is likely to continue to move towards the west and northwest, intensify into a deep depression by December 2 and further into a cyclonic storm around December 3, the IMD said.
“Thereafter, it would move in the same direction and cross South Andhra Pradesh and adjoining North Tamil Nadu coast between Chennai and Machilipatnam around the evening of December 4 as a cyclonic storm, it said in a statement. “It appears that the system will have no impact on Odisha,” an official at the Special Relief Commissioner's Office said here.
-with PTI inputs.