Tamil Nadu Weather: Chennai OnYellow Alert as Heavy Rain to Hit 16 Dists Today, 26 Tomorrow

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, has forecast widespread rainfall activity across Tamil Nadu over the next four days, with several districts placed under yellow and orange alerts for heavy rainfall. The weather system is being strengthened by the advancing Southwest Monsoon, which has officially set in over Kerala and has begun spreading into parts of Tamil Nadu.

According to the latest forecast, heavy rain is likely to lash western, southern and interior districts of the state from Thursday through Sunday. On Thursday, 16 districts, including the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Salem, Erode, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Kanyakumari, are under a yellow alert.

The rainfall activity is expected to intensify on Friday, when 26 districts are likely to receive heavy showers. The Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Kanyakumari districts have been placed under an orange alert, indicating the possibility of very heavy rainfall. Several other districts, including Chennai, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur, are under a yellow alert.

The wet spell is expected to continue into the weekend. On Saturday, the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Theni and Dindigul districts will remain under orange alert, while 13 other districts, including Salem, Erode, Dharmapuri, Madurai and Virudhunagar, are under yellow alert.

On Sunday, orange alerts remain in force for the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Theni and Kanyakumari districts. Eight other districts, including Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri and Madurai, are expected to receive heavy rainfall under yellow alert conditions.

The intensity of rainfall is likely to ease slightly on Monday, though heavy rain is still expected at isolated places over eight districts, namely the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Kanyakumari, Theni and the ghat areas of Tirunelveli and Tenkasi.

Recent rainfall has already been reported at isolated places across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Nalumukku in Tirunelveli district recorded the state's highest rainfall during the past 24 hours, receiving 87 mm.

Temperatures have shown a noticeable decline across parts of Tamil Nadu due to increased cloud cover and rainfall. Maximum temperatures have fallen by 2°C to 4°C at a few locations and remained near normal elsewhere. Chennai Airport recorded the state's highest maximum temperature at 40.3°C. Meanwhile, Coimbatore Airport registered the lowest minimum temperature among the plains at 22.6°C, while Kodaikanal recorded a chilly 13.4°C in the hill regions.

The RMC said the Southwest Monsoon has advanced into parts of Tamil Nadu and conditions are favourable for its further progress across the remaining parts of the state within the next two to three days.