Saturday’s well-marked low-pressure area over South-West Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas of North Coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has weakened into a conventional ‘low’ and lay over North Coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and neighbourhood. It is very likely to move west-northwestwards across North Interior Tamilnadu and Kerala and emerge into the South-East and adjoining East-Central Arabian Sea as a ‘low,’ or weaker as a cyclonic circulation later today.
Heavy rainfall to continue
It will continue to bring fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over North Coastal Tamil Nadu and the ghat areas of both Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It will be isolated heavy over interior Tamil Nadu today and over Kerala and Mahe today and tomorrow. Squally weather with wind speeds 40-45 kmph gusting to 55 kmph may prevail over Lakshadweep, the Maldives-Comorin and along and off the Kerala coast and adjoining South-East Arabian Sea today.
Almost entire Kerala is on a yellow alert for today (heavy rain, thunderstorms and lightning) with an elevated orange alert reserved for Idukki district nestling in the high ranges to the East. Landslides have been reported on Saturday at the vulnerable Munnar hills with at least one person missing when a van capsized in the flood waters. Reports on Sunday morning said his body has been recovered.
Landslides in Munnar, Kerala
As for tomorrow, the warning for squally weather with wind speeds of 40-45 kmph gusting to 55 kmph has been retained for the South-East and adjoining East-Central Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep. The IMD advised fishermen not to venture into along and off South Andhra Pradesh-North Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts and adjoining South-West and West-Central Bay and off the Kerala coast today; Lakshadweep until tomorrow; and the South-East Arabian Sea today and tomorrow.
Satellite pics show fresh ‘low’
The IMD has also maintained the watch for a fresh low-pressure materialising over the South-East Bay of Bengal and adjoining Andaman Sea, almost 1,500 km away from Chennai. Indications are that the distance to travel may allow the system to gather momentum and intensify a round off Chennai, but only to give up as it heads for the southern coast. However, it promises another round of wet spell to the city.
Satellite pictures on Sunday morning showed a buzzing line of thunderstorms standing tall over the Tamil Nadu coast and interior from Madurai, Karaikudi, Muthupet, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Permbalur, Neyveli, Attur, Tiruvannamalai, Mannargudi and Chinnasalem and Tirupathi, Nellore and Kavali in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh. A huge ball of thunderstorms had broken away off the Kerala coast to stay parked over the Lakshadweep Islands and neighbouring East-Central Arabian Sea.