Chennai will witness heavy-to-very-heavy rains in the next 24 hours, as authorities warn of a low-pressure formation likely over the southwest Bay of Bengal, close to the Tamil Nadu coastline, on Wednesday. The city and northern districts woke up to heavy rains on Wednesday, after which a holiday was declared for schools in Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu.
The Met department on Wednesday forecast more downpours in the next 48 hours.
The Chennai Meteorological Department has stated that there is a possibility of rain in 27 districts, including Chennai, on Wednesday. The department said light to moderate rain is expected in Ariyalur, Chengalpattu, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi, Kanchipuram, Karur, Krishnagiri, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Ranipet, Karaikal, Sivaganga, Thanjavur, The Nilgiris, Tiruvallur, Thiruvarur, Thoothukudi, Trichy, Tirupattur, Tirupur, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and Villupuram districts.
Pradeep John, a member of the Tamil Nadu Government's El-Nino Expert Group, has predicted the weather conditions in Chennai and its suburbs for the next 24 hours, adding that there will be temporary relief for the capital city.
"Rainfall is expected to decrease across Chennai during the day as the cloud cover has moved northwards to the Ponneri-Pulikadu area. It may be sunny during the day. At the same time, there is a possibility of scattered rain. Moderate to heavy rain is likely tonight and early in the morning," he said.
Meanwhile, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), in its latest bulletin, indicated that a low-pressure formation is likely to take shape over the southwest Bay of Bengal, close to the Tamil Nadu coastline. Tuesday's upper-air cyclonic circulation over the Southwest Bay of Bengal off the north Tamil Nadu coast now lay over the Southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Tamil Nadu coast, the bulletin added.
Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the same region during the next 24 hours. Accordingly, heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Chennai, Thiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai and Ramanathapuram districts and the Puducherry and Karaikal area, it said.
