Rain and Clouds Bring Relief to Chennai as Ambattur Records 5 cm Rainfall

A trough off the north Tamil Nadu coast and low-level wind convergence brought cloud cover and rainfall to Chennai on Friday, providing much-needed relief from the soaring heat. The weather system brought down maximum temperatures, with Ambattur in Chennai recording 5 cm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending Friday morning.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), the low-level wind convergence persisting over north coastal Tamil Nadu helped control maximum temperatures over Chennai and its adjoining areas. In Nungambakkam, Chennai recorded a maximum temperature of 34.3 degrees Celsius, which was average or below average for the season.

Other areas in the region also experienced significant rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. Coonoor in the Nilgiris district recorded the highest rainfall of 6 cm, while Echanviduthi in Thanjavur district matched Ambattur with 5 cm of rain. Light to moderate rainfall was also recorded across several other parts of Chennai, Tiruvallur, and Coimbatore districts.

Along with Chennai, places such as Vellore, Tiruttani, Tirupattur, and Thondi in Ramanathapuram experienced below-average or average maximum temperatures on Friday. Vellore registered a maximum temperature of 35.4 degrees Celsius. However, interior areas of the state, including Madurai and Tiruchi, did not receive the same relief, with temperatures soaring in those locations.

V.R. Durai, Head of the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre at the RMC, stated that there is a possibility of light rain in a few places across south Tamil Nadu, the coastal region, Puducherry, and the Karaikal area on Saturday.

The relief is expected to be short-lived as the trough is projected to shift its position. With the Southwest monsoon currently in a weak phase in Tamil Nadu, dry weather is forecast to return to most parts of the state from Sunday and persist until July 16. The RMC has predicted that day temperatures may rise two to three degrees Celsius above normal in one or two places starting Sunday.