Tamil Nadu Weather: 12 Districts On Yellow, Orange Alerts; Chennai To Get Heavy Rains

With the Pongal festival just around the corner, Tamil Nadu is bracing for a spell of heavy rainfall, even as weather department has indicated that the showers are unlikely to disrupt the festive celebrations. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has issued a mix of orange and yellow alerts across 12 districts in the state, indicating varying degrees of rainfall intensity expected on Saturday.

According to the latest bulletin, five districts and one Union Territory region have been placed under an orange alert, signalling the likelihood of heavy to very heavy rain in isolated places. These include Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Pudukottai, and the Karaikal region. These districts, largely located along the coastal and delta regions, are particularly vulnerable to intense rainfall due to their proximity to the Bay of Bengal and the influence of the ongoing weather system over the sea.

In addition, seven districts and Puducherry have been issued a yellow alert, which indicates moderate rainfall with the possibility of heavy spells in some pockets. The districts under this category are Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, Ariyalur, Sivaganga, and Ramanathapuram, along with Puducherry. These regions are expected to receive intermittent showers and thunderstorms, which may cause temporary waterlogging and minor disruptions.

While Chennai was earlier placed under a yellow alert, the latest update from the RMC has withdrawn the warning for the city. However, the weather agency has cautioned that thunderstorms and lightning accompanied by light to moderate rain are still likely in some parts of the capital and its suburbs.

Providing further insight into the current weather conditions, the RMC noted a rise in minimum temperatures by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius across many parts of Tamil Nadu over the past 24 hours. Minimum temperatures were above normal at isolated places in Interior Tamil Nadu, while they remained generally near normal along the Coastal belt, Puducherry and the Karaikal region. On the temperature front, Madurai Airport recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state at 32.5°C, while Salem reported the lowest minimum temperature in the plains at 18.1°C. In the hill areas, Kodaikanal was the coldest, with a minimum temperature of 9.1°C.

The current spell of rain is being driven by a depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal, which has evolved from a deep depression that was present a day earlier. According to the RMC, the system weakened slightly and was located at 5:30 am on January 10 over the southwest Bay of Bengal off the northeast Sri Lanka coast. By 8:30 am, it had moved west-northwestwards and was centred near latitude 9.1°N and longitude 81.2°E. This placed it about 50 km east-southeast of Mullaittivu, 60 km north-northeast of Trincomalee, 140 km east-southeast of Jaffna, 250 km southeast of Karaikal, and 450 km south-southeast of Chennai.

The RMC has forecast that the system is very likely to continue moving west-northwestwards and cross the North Sri Lanka coast between Trincomalee and Jaffna, close to Mullaittivu, by the noon or afternoon of January 10. As it crosses land, it is expected to weaken further, which should gradually reduce the intensity of rainfall over Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, an upper air cyclonic circulation over the southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining south Kerala coast, which was present at about 1.5 km above mean sea level, has now become less marked, indicating a weakening influence on weather conditions in the region.

Despite the widespread alerts, officials have reassured the public that the rains are not expected to play spoilsport for the Pongal festival. While some districts may experience heavy showers, the overall trend suggests that conditions will gradually improve, allowing people to go ahead with their harvest celebrations with only minor weather-related interruptions. As always, residents in alert areas are advised to stay updated with official forecasts and take necessary precautions during periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms.