The deep depression that crossed the Tamil Nadu coast near Puducherry around 7.30 pm last night retained its intensity as it lay over North-East Tamil Nadu and adjoining South Interior Karnataka by midnight.

Maximum wind speed on the surface is 55 km/hr to 65 km/hr gusting to 75 km/hr, an India Met Department update said.

Heavy rain

Heavy to very heavy rain lashed isolated places over Rayalaseema and Tamil Nadu during the day yesterday.

Among these are (in cm): Tirupattur-16; Tirupathi and Vellore-8 each; Cuddalore-7; Nungambakkam-6; Tiruthani and Dharamapuri-5 each; Arogyavaram, Meenambakkam and Salem-4 each; Kavali-3; Nellore-2 and Ongole, Pudducherry, Thiruvananthapurm and Karaikal-1 each.

Due to interaction with land and high vertical wind shear (sudden variation in wind direction and strength with height), the deep depression would weaken gradually.

It will wind down to wind speed of 50 km/hr to 60 km/hr gusting to 70 km/hr but mostly retain its rain generating capacity until noon of today.

To weaken

Weakening by a full round as a depression (40 km/hr to 50 km/hr gusting to 60 km/hr) would happen only by 5.30 pm. 

But even at that level, it would be able to generate moderate to heavy rainfall over the interior of the South Peninsula.

The winds are higher over the North-East sector of the system. The state of sea covered by the flanks of the system continues to be rough.

Rain-producing convective clouds lie over area between South Kerala and South Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh and North Interior Karnataka and into adjoining Bay of Bengal. 

Met outlook

Outlook for today by the Met said that heavy to very heavy rainfall would lash isolated places over South Interior Karnataka and Kerala.

It will be heavy at isolated places over Rayalaseema and Tamil Nadu.  

Tomorrow, the heavy to very heavy rain belt would be active over Kerala.

But heavy rains would come back to interior Tamil Nadu by Thursday, it said.

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