A spurt of heavy rainfall has been forecast at isolated places over coastal Tamil Nadu from Sunday with stormy conditions developing over south Bay of Bengal.
FRESH STORM
A trough, an elongated area of lower pressure that generates weather, has been established over the seas linking Tamil Nadu and adjoining Sri Lanka with south-east Bay.
This is where global models suspect that another tropical storm might develop by mid-week next week (around December 5) and move in towards south-east Tamil Nadu.
A US military forecast persisted with the view that another tropical cyclone could develop in the area and set a track straight to the west.
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts too subscribes to this view but does not seem to suggest a particularly strong system evolving just yet. In any case, next week could bring some meaningful and badly needed rain for Tamil Nadu after successive away-going cyclones denied it its due share.
WET PHASE
The wet phase may last into the week that follows as well, if initial assessments are anything to go by.
India Met Department has said that rain or thundershowers would break out at many places over Tamil Nadu and Kerala and isolated places over rest of peninsula from Monday.
Thundershowers would lash at isolated places over Tamil Nadu during next two days and cover many places, thereafter.
LEHAR REMNANT
A similar forecast is valid for Kerala for the next two days, with rains expected to pick up in strength after two days.
Meanwhile, the deep depression (remnant of erstwhile cyclone Lehar) weakened rapidly and hung over Telangana as a rudimentary low-pressure area on Friday.
The ‘low’ will continue to bring rain at isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh during next two days.
Isolated places over south Madhya Maharashtra and Marathawada too might benefit from spill-over rain from Saturday onwards.
vinson.kurian@thehindu.co.in