TN faces dual threat as NE monsoon sets in
The depression and the cyclone are likely to bring in changes in the moisture distribution, which may lead to a weaker monsoon during the first few days.
Coast Guard warning fishermen in the sea off Chennai.
CHENNAI: The much-awaited northeast monsoon set in over Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Saturday with the Indian Coast Guard and the RMC, Chennai issuing cyclone and depression alerts warning fishermen in the deep sea along TN-Andhra coast to return to the shore at the earliest.
In a rare, unusual situation, the onset is marked by the presence of a cyclone formed over the Arabian Sea and a depression over the Bay of Bengal, the weather office sources said.
The depression and the cyclone are likely to bring in changes in the moisture distribution, which may lead to a weaker monsoon during the first few days.
The depression over the Arabian Sea intensified into a cyclonic storm ‘Tej’ and lay centred on Saturday. It is very likely to intensify into a severe to very severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours. It would move west-northwestwards and cross the Yemen-Oman coasts between Al Ghaidah (Yemen) and Salalah (Oman) on October 25. The cyclonic storm is expected to bring heavy rains along the Western Ghats spread over TN, Karnataka, and Kerala, said Dr S Balachandran, Deputy Director-General of Meteorology of Regional Meteorological Center (RMC), Chennai.
On the depression which may have a larger impact on TN, Balachandran said the system is likely to concentrate into a depression on Sunday and move towards Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts in the northeast direction.
Under its influence, Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli are expected to receive heavy rain while Chennai, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu districts are likely to witness light to moderate rain till October 24.
On the other hand, with the well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal and a cyclonic circulation over the Comorin area, northeasterly winds have strengthened over the south and central Bay of Bengal and extend up to middle tropospheric levels, Balachandran explained.