Good news for weather watchers in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry! The Regional Meteorological Department announced on Sunday that a low-pressure system is expected to form over the Southeast Bay of Bengal around October 21. This development is likely to bring heavy rainfall to the region over the next 24 hours.
Residents in the ghat areas of Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Erode, Tiruppur, Theni, and Tenkasi districts in Tamil Nadu, as well as parts of Kerala, can expect heavy rains. For Chennai and its surrounding districts, the Met department anticipates scattered spells of light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning.
This comes as Tamil Nadu has already been experiencing significant rainfall since the onset of the Northeast Monsoon on October 16. In the last 24 hours, Kothagiri in Nilgiris district recorded the highest rainfall of 14 cm, while Sirkali in Mayiladuthurai district received 1 cm.
The Meteorological Department’s bulletin highlighted an Upper Air Cyclonic circulation that currently sits over the South Andaman Sea and the adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal, extending up to 1.5 km above sea level. This system is expected to intensify, moving northwestward and potentially consolidating into a depression over the central Bay of Bengal within the next 48 hours.
Coastal areas along South Tamil Nadu, the Gulf of Mannar, and the Comorin region should brace for squally weather, with wind speeds ranging from 35 to 45 kmph, gusting up to 55 kmph.
A word of caution for fishermen: venturing into the sea is not advised. Those already at sea in the South Bay of Bengal and adjacent West-central Bay of Bengal are urged to return to the coast by the morning of October 21.