Chennai School Holiday On October 29? Parents Await Update As 9 Districts To Get Heavy Rains

Chennai and several parts of Tamil Nadu woke up to cloudy skies and intermittent rain on Tuesday as the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) issued alerts for multiple districts.

According to the latest weather bulletin, Tiruvallur district has been placed on orange alert, while Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Theni, Tenkasi, Kanyakumari, and the Ghat areas of Tirunelveli remain under a yellow alert for the day.

The RMC stated that Cyclone Montha has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal. As of Tuesday morning, it was centered around 160 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam and 240 km south-southeast of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. The cyclone is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada by Tuesday evening or night, bringing wind speeds of 90-100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.

In addition, a separate depression over the east-central Arabian Sea has been observed, moving northeastward. It is currently located about 580 km west-southwest of Mumbai and is expected to continue in that direction over the next 36 hours, the RMC added.

While the cyclone's primary impact will be over coastal Andhra Pradesh, its outer rain bands have resulted in moderate to heavy showers over northern Tamil Nadu, particularly around Chennai and Tiruvallur.

Is There A School Holiday In Chennai On October 29?

Parents and students in Chennai and nearby districts are anxiously watching weather developments amid concerns over school schedules.

Weather blogger R. Pradeep John (Tamil Nadu Weatherman) noted that rainfall intensity would likely taper off by Tuesday afternoon. "Steady rains in North Chennai and drizzles in South Chennai will continue for two more hours and then slowly stop," he wrote, adding that North Chennai recorded 60-70 mm of rainfall, while southern parts saw around 30-50 mm. "Next two weeks for Chennai will be isolated rains or a break in rains," he said.

As the rains are expected to reduce as the day progresses, the schools are expected to function like a normal day on Wednesday. However, if the rains intensify, the District Collector take the call on the issue in the evening or late in the night.

Meanwhile, neighboring states have taken precautionary measures as Cyclone Montha nears landfall. Schools and colleges in 12 districts of Andhra Pradesh, including Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, West Godavari, and Krishna, have been ordered shut till October 31. Similarly, several districts in Odisha - including Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, and Ganjam - have declared holidays for schools until October 30 due to the prevailing weather conditions.