Tamil Nadu coast is facing a threat from a monsoon depression located 700 km south east of Chennai on Sunday.
The system is expected to intensify into a deep depression (only a spin away from being categorised as a cyclone), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
WEATHER WARNING
The causative low-pressure over South Andaman Sea had undergone twice over during Saturday and Sunday.
A weather warning from the IMD said that heavy rainfall would break out over Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Monday and Tuesday.
Thundershowers have been forecast at many places over south peninsular India, Lakshadweep and Karnataka, Konkan, Goa and south madhya Maharashtra.
Thundershowers may also lash many places over Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep on Monday and increase, thereafter. Elsewhere in peninsula, rains may break out south Karnataka, south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema and increase over south Andhra Pradesh Monday.
LIKELY LANDFALL
Global forecasts suggest the storm will hit north east Sri Lanka and adjoining south east Tamil Nadu coast by Wednesday.
The landfall might cover the stretch from Puducherry to Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Thiruvarur, Mannarguddi, Pattukkottai, Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi. Concurrent movement of western disturbance and its battery of westerly winds are forecast to guide the system part of the storm north along the Tamil Nadu coast.
Meanwhile, the Arabian Sea is also expected to witness some intensified weather activity, with a low-pressure area in the south east basin steadily growing in strength.
This is expected to become a storm of near-cyclone strength over east-central Arabian Sea.
ARABIAN SEA STORM
From here, the westerly winds might steer the system back towards the west coast of India and take it for a landfall somewhere over Gujarat coast, according to initial outlook.