Tiruvannamalai braces for rains as Cyclone Fengal gradually starts exiting Villupuram, say weather bloggers

CHENNAI: Cyclonic storm Fengal has finally begun its slow westward movement on Sunday afternoon after stalling near Puducherry for 12 hours, bringing some relief to Puducherry and Villupuram districts which has received 'historic' rainfall this weekend.

Also Read: Cyclone Fengal: Puducherry battered by highest rainfall in 30 years

"The primary convection around the center of the Cyclonic Storm Fengal is seen gradually pushing into Tiruvannamalai district from Villupuram district. This is indicative of much needed westward movement towards interior Tamil Nadu," said weather blogger Srikanth who runs the @ChennaiRains handle on X. As a result, Tiruvannamalai is likely to see a change in intensity of rainfall, he predicted.

The cyclonic storm is expected to move through Tiruvannamalai district, then shift to the southern parts of Tirupattur, then Dharmapuri, before eventually making its way into the state of Karnataka, added independent weather blogger Pradeep John (who goes by Tamil Nadu Weatherman on his social media handles).

Also Read: Cyclone Fengal: Unprecedented rainfall paralyses life in Puducherry

Calling it a 'rare cyclone' for Dharmapuri and Tirupattur, he said, in a tweet at 1.30 pm today, that as the central dense overcast (CDO) clouds of the tropical cyclone is over Vikravandi (in Villupuram), the region is receiving heavy rains.

The cyclone will take a west-northwest path, regions including Tiruvannamalai, Kallakuruchi, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Bengaluru, Tirupattur, Erode (particularly northern parts), Mysuru, and Coimbatore (with a chance of sporadic rains) are all likely to get rainfall, Pradeep John said in an earlier tweet.

Also Read: Indian Army carries out rescue operations in cyclone affected areas of Puducherry

The Nilgiris is also expected to receive rains, he added.

In the Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Chennai region, there will be sudden bursts of short spells of intense rains now and then, the weather blogger predicted.

Earlier the cyclone was stationary between north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for around 12 hours.

Under its influence, Mailam all-weather station in Villupuram recorded a whopping 51 cm of rainfall from 8.30 am on November 30 to 5.30 am today (December 1, Sunday).

The union territory of Puducherry recorded 48.4 cm of rainfall today, marking the highest 24-hour cumulative rainfall in the last 30 years, from 1995 to 2024, in the town.