Heavy rains: Red alert in 4 southern Tamil Nadu districts; low pressure in Bay of Bengal may bring intense spells soon, say weathermen
Low-pressure area likely to form on May 22 may concentrate into a depression to become the first system during the summer season this year, say officials.
Representative image (File Photo)
CHENNAI: The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, on Saturday issued a red alert for Kanniyakumari, Theni, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts of Tamil Nadu, forecasting extremely heavy rain in these districts on May 19 and 20 under the influence of a cyclonic circulation that is prevailing over south Tamil Nadu.
The weather department added that a low-pressure area is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal on May 22 (Wednesday), which would bring intense spells over several parts of the State.
The heavy rain that lashed many areas of Tamil Nadu, especially the Western Ghats and interior districts, in the last few days is likely to continue due to a cyclonic circulation prevailing over south Tamil Nadu and now lies over south interior Tamil Nadu.
Extremely heavy rain along with thunderstorm activity with a speed reaching 40 kmph to 50 kmph is likely to occur over Kanniyakumari, Theni, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi for the next two days.
Orange and yellow warnings were issued for Virudhunagar, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tirupur, Dindigul, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Madurai, Sivaganga, Thoothukudi, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Ariyalur, Perambalur and Tiruchy.
“These districts are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rain till Wednesday. The rest of the State is likely to receive light to moderate rain, which would reduce the maximum temperature during the summer season," said P Senthamarai Kannan, director of the Area Cyclone Warning Centre, RMC.
In Chennai, which is experiencing cloudy sky conditions and light showers in some areas for the last few days, mild spell of rain is likely to continue for the next two days. Thanks to this, the maximum temperature will stay below normal.
Meanwhile, a low-pressure area is likely to form over southwest Bay of Bengal on May 22. It is likely to move initially north-eastwards and concentrate into a depression over central parts of Bay of Bengal around May 24, said Senthamarai Kannan.
"It is the first system likely to form during the summer season this year. The low-pressure area is expected to bring intense spells to the State in the coming days," added the official.
According to the RMC, during the summer season from March 1 to May 18, Tamil Nadu received 77.8 mm of rainfall against the average of 99.2 mm, which works out to a deficit of 22 per cent.
Earlier, only Dindigul district received excess rainfall in the last three months. But now, after various parts of the State witnessed heavy rain in the last few days, 8 districts - Coimbatore, Dindigul, Mayiladuthurai, Ramanathapuram, Theni, Tirunelveli, Tiruvarur and Virudhunagar - recorded excess rainfall compared to the normal summer spell.