Satellite pictures on Friday evening showed clouds moving towards South-East Tamil Nadu coast and adjoining North Sri Lanka even as rain-hit Chennai recorded fresh showers amounting to 2 cm.
India Met Department had kept Chennai ‘under watch’ for two days from Friday but most of the excess rain was recorded to its South as winds turned north-easterly from easterly.
The Chennai Met Centre said that the North-East monsoon has been active over Coastal Tamil Nadu during the 24 hours ending Monday morning.
Chief amounts of rainfall recorded in centimetres are Nagapattinam and Cuddalore-9 each; Pondicherry-8; Cheyyur and Karaikal-7 each; Sethiathope and Sirkali-6 each; and Panruti, Anaikaranchatram, Parangipettai, and Marakkanam-5 each.
The causative low-pressure area persisted over South-West Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lanka off the Tamil Nadu coast.
Rain watch In an extended forecast, the Met said that rain or thundershowers would continue to lash many places over South Peninsular India and at a few places along the West Coast for another week (until December 11). The US Climate Prediction Centre has maintained a rain watch that covers the entire area from Chennai to the South of Tamil Nadu coast, the peninsular tip (Kanyakumari) and North Sri Lanka during the week ending Wednesday.
It is again Chennai and neighbourhood which have been put on notice for rain watch during the week that follows i.e. from December 10 to 16.
Cyclonic whirl As for the short-term outlook for four days beginning tomorrow (Saturday), the following is the assessment of the Met Department.
Saturday: Heavy rain at isolated places over Coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Sunday: Heavy rain at isolated places over Coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala.
Monday: Heavy rainfall at isolated places over Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Tuesday: Heavy rainfall at isolated places over Lakshadweep.
The movement of the rain belt from South-East Tamil Nadu and adjoining Sri Lanka around the peninsular tip and onward to the Lakshadweep Sea tracks that of the low-pressure area and its embedded cyclonic circulation and the larger trough that hosts the twosome.
In this manner, the rains should dry up over Tamil Nadu but the southward movement of an anti-cyclone from North India is seen squeezing available easterly winds of its moisture over North Tamil Nadu.
This is what should continue to fall as rain over Chennai and its neighbourhood.