Wet spell in Chennai, orange alert for 5 Tamil Nadu districts
Intermittent showers bring mercury down in Chennai; 3 die in rain-related incidents in Namakkal and Erode
Heavy rain in Thanjavur on Thursday
CHENNAI: Heavy rains lashed the Cauvery delta till Thursday and a total of 174.79 cm was recorded across the region with Pattukkottai in Thanjavur receiving the maximum rainfall of 17 cm in 24 hours. Chennai and nearby districts experienced light to moderate rains, bringing the mercury down from heatwave conditions a few days ago.
With a cyclonic circulation over the southwest Bay of Bengal adjoining south Sri Lanka lying over the Comorin area and adjoining south Tamil Nadu coast, several parts of Tamil Nadu are likely to receive heavy rainfall this week.
Regional Meteorological Centre on Thursday stated that the existing weather conditions would bring down the maximum temperature gradually by 3-4 degrees Celsius at many places over Tamil Nadu until May 20. It is likely to be below normal to normal over most parts of Tamil Nadu.
An orange alert has been issued for Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Theni as heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in these districts until May 20. The rains are to be followed by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph at one or two places over Tamil Nadu.
The yellow alert has been flagged by the Regional Meteorological Centre for Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Madurai, Dindigul, Pudukkottai, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Tirupur, Coimbatore, The Nilgiris and Erode as heavy rainfall is expected.
On Thursday, Coimbatore received the highest rainfall, recording 56.8 mm of rainfall, while Kanniyakumari and Ramanathapuram recorded 26.5 mm and 13.6 mm of rainfall. Meenambakkam in Chennai recorded 5 mm of rainfall.
Meanwhile, three persons including a couple died of electrocution in separate rain-related incidents in Namakkal and Erode districts on Thursday.
The rains also led to a dip in the maximum temperature in all the districts. Erode recorded the highest maximum temperature of 35.8°C, followed by 34.2°C in Tirupattur. Nungambakkam in Chennai recorded 29.3°C.
On Friday, the sky condition is likely to be generally cloudy in the city.
Chennai is expected to receive moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning. The rains are expected to bring down the maximum temperature to around 29°C and the minimum temperature to 26-27°C.
Mercury to hit 45°C in Delhi
Meanwhile, heatwave conditions are expected over northwest India during the next five days, with Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi predicted to bear the maximum impact, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday. A fresh heatwave spell will also commence over east and central India from May 18. "Severe heatwave conditions are very likely in some parts of Rajasthan during May 17-20 and in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi during May 18-20," the IMD said. The mercury could soar to 45 degrees Celsius in the national capital by Saturday.
