Wet march on I-Day as Met dept forecasts rain for city

Deputy Director General Meteorology, Dr S Balachandran, from the Regional Meteorological Centre, told DTNext that a low-pressure area had formed over the Bay of Bengal and under the influence, rain would continue in Chennai and its suburbs for the next two days. 

“The low-pressure area has given birth to windy conditions and therefore the cloud cover is thick. This will lead to rain and thundershowers till tomorrow evening,” he added. However, the official ruled out the possibility of very heavy rainfall akin to monsoon downpour in and around Chennai. 

According to the latest bulletin from the Met Department, the low-pressure is likely to concentrate into a depression during the next 48 hours. The conditions will remain cloudy with the possibility of thunderclouds later in the evening or night. 

Light rain is likely to occur in some areas. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 34 and 27 degrees Celsius respectively. Echoing the Met Department, Pradeep John, better known as Tamil Nadu’s weatherman, said that heavy rain will continue for another two days. 

“It is due to the convergence of wind. Moreover, there is no lightning or thunder and therefore, it is expected to be similar to monsoon rain,” he added. John said that once the low-pressure in Bay of Bengal converts into a deep depression, the rain will slow down in Chennai and suburbs and move out towards Andhra Pradesh. 

Meanwhile, due to Tuesday’s rain, commuters, especially those returning from office were stranded at several places. Traffic snarls were reported from several junctions especially in Egmore, Nungambakkam, T Nagar, Mylapore, Guindy, Porur and other areas. However, services of rail and buses remained unaffected in the city.