Chennai city stays dry as suburbs get rain

Chennai: It rained in Chennai — well, sort of. Several suburban localities across the city experienced brief but intense spells of rain and thunderstorms early on Saturday morning while central areas of the city remained mostly dry, though it was cloudy. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast light rain for both the city and its suburbs on Sunday. However, day temperatures are expected to climb by 2C to 3C between April 7 and 9; light to moderate rainfall is likely to continue over isolated parts of the state until April 11. Weather bloggers also noted that the city stands a fair chance of receiving sporadic showers at least until April 10.

"The city and neighbourhood are likely to receive light rain in some areas on Sunday. The maximum temperature may be 33C-34C and minimum temperature may be 27C-28C. The skies may be partly cloudy," an IMD bulletin said.

On Saturday morning, many localities such as Tambaram, Madhavaram, Avadi and Chromepet received short intense spells with thunderstorms. The observatory at Meenambakkam recorded 0.01cm rainfall while Nungambakkam recorded traces. The automatic weather stations in Jaya Engineering College recorded 0.1mm and New Chennai Township Private Limited in Chengalpet recorded 0.05cm.

March and April receive relatively less rainfall before it picks up in May. Nungambakkam's average rainfall in March and April are 0.22mm and 1.41cm. Since March 1, the observatory recorded 1.87cm. Meenambakkam recorded 4.5cm rainfall.

Some interior districts close to the ghats received heavy rainfall in the past few days due to the presence of a circulation. On Sunday too, districts such as Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, Dindigul and Tenkasi may receive heavy rain. Intensity may reduce from Monday.

Blogger Pradeep John said the city's interior areas are receiving spells compared to localities close to the sea due to wind convergence triggered by the entry of easterlies in the early morning hours. "There are chances of rain spells every day at least till April 10," he said.