India Met Department has forecast heavy rain for parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry today (Saturday) even as a heavy band of clouds waits outside the East Coast biding its time.
The southern flanks of the cloud band are already impacting the East of Sri Lanka. The causative low-pressure area persisted over South-East and adjoining East-Central Arabian Sea, as it moved away from Lakshadweep.
Light drizzle has been reported from parts of Chennai this morning as Puducherry remained cloudy after a round of showers yesterday.
Satellite pictures indicate that the incoming band of thunderclouds now located over Southwest Bay of Bengal off the coast, is eyeing the Nagapattinam-Puducherry-Chennai stretch later today and tomorrow.
These clouds are now converging around an upper air cyclonic circulation (formative stage of low-pressure area but with no signs of maturing into one) over the South-West Bay off Sri Lanka coast.
Light rain or showers are being reported from Batticaloa, while scattered clouds hung over Dambulla, both on the East coast of Lanka.
Trough in west
The cyclonic circulation should help guide in some of the clouds towards the Puducherry and Chennai coasts today and tomorrow, triggering rain.
On the Arabian Sea side, the prevailing 'low' has thrown up a trough to the North-East Arabian Sea, which is bringing thundershowers along the West Coast.
Parts of the West Coast, including Thiruvananthapuram, have been witnessing hit-or-miss thunderstorms from yesterday, a trend which is expected to continue today.
The 'low 'along with the trough is pushing rain even into interior Maharashtra, with thunderstorm with gale and lightning forecast for Madhya Maharashtra and Marathawada today and tomorrow.