Chennai may experience misty mornings for next two days, says Met centre

CHENNAI: As moderate spells cooled the city down on Thursday night, the weather is likely to continue for the next two days due to the system prevailing over the sea.

The change in wind flow might reduce the maximum temperature in the state in the early hours, especially in the coastal districts. Velachery, Royapuram, Tondiarpet, Ambattur, Mylapore and Alandur saw a sudden downpour on Thursday night that continued till the early hours of Friday.

Perambur, Basin Bridge, Anna Nagar West, Kolathur and Tondiarpet recorded 5 to 6 cm of rainfall in the last 24 hours. Various places, including Ayapakkam, MGR Nagar, Manali, Madhavaram, Vadapalani and Ambattur, received 4 cm of rainfall.

An upper air cyclonic circulation over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal off South Andhra Pradesh-North Tamil Nadu coasts extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level has become less marked. As the moisture level has increased over the sea, it has triggered light to moderate rainfall in various parts of the state.

Under its influence, light to moderate rain is likely to occur over Tamil Nadu for the next two days. As per extended range predictions by dynamical models, near normal to above normal rainfall is likely over Tamil Nadu till January 2. The wind pattern has changed due to the low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal last week. The coastal and adjoining interior districts have been witnessing northerly winds, which have dropped the maximum temperature. For the next two days, mist/haze will likely prevail during early hours at isolated places in the state, said the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services has warned the coast of Chennai from Palavakkam to Lakshmipuram Odaikuppam with surface current speeds in the range of 1.2 - 1.3 m/sec forecasted for the next 24 hours and advised to practice harbour and marine activities should with caution.