The Met department also said there is a cyclonic circulation in northern Tamil Nadu, the Andhra Pradesh coast and the neighborhood at the lower and middle tropospheric levels.
When Chennai and its suburbs woke up to heavy rains Thursday morning due to the northeast monsoon, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast cloudy skies and intermittent rain for the next 24 hours. The Met Department also stated that Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Chennai, Ranipet, Villupuram, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram will witness heavy rains in isolated areas.
The city of Chennai received heavy rains in the early hours of Thursday until around 10 am and various areas of the city recorded more than 170mm of rain in a span of a few hours. In a more recent update, the IMD also said: “There is a cyclonic circulation over northern Tamil Nadu, the coast of Andhra Pradesh and the neighborhood at low and medium tropospheric levels. Under its influence, scattered showers with moderate thunderstorms and lightning most likely Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry for the next 5 days. “
According to a blog post by private weather blogger Pradeep John, who goes by the name of Tamil Nadu Weatherman, residents of Chennai can expect a rainy day on Thursday into the evening with a few breaks in between. At 6am on Thursday, Mylapore (DGP office) l received around 178mm of rain and Anna University received 139mm of rain. Lake Redhills received 128mm of rain, while Nungambakkam received 127mm of rain based on data available with private gauges. The Parrys area received 94mm of rain, while Ambattur received 90mm of rain at 6am on Thursday.
This is the most rain Chennaj has received in 24 hours since November 2017, Pradeep John said.
Several residents also received a text message allegedly from the government early Thursday morning saying that the Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram areas will witness heavy rain for the next three hours (until 9 a.m.) and warning residents that stay safe.
Several roads, including the Chennai arterials, were flooded due to heavy rains that hit the city overnight. Wall Tax Road near Egmore, roads around Chennai Central Train Station, and parts of Anna Salai reported severe waterlogging Thursday morning. Several vehicles were partially submerged and pedestrians were left wading through the water in these areas to reach their destinations. Vyasarpadi, Egmore, Parrys, Palavakkam, Thiruvanmiyur, MMDA Colony and Kilpauk also witnessed flooding.
The northeast monsoon fell over Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Unlike other parts of the country, Chennai receives most of its annual rainfall (63%) during the northeast monsoon season. Tamil Nadu receives 48% of its annual rainfall between October and December.
Chennai corporation number for rain related emergencies.
044 2538 4530, 044 2538 4540
1913 helpline
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