Tamil Nadu Weather: Cyclone Montha To Bring Heavy Rains to Chennai, Orange Alert Issued For 4 Dists

Chennai and several northern districts of Tamil Nadu are set to receive heavy rainfall today as Cyclone Montha inches closer to the Indian coast, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

In its latest bulletin, the Regional Meteorological Centre said, "Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at a few places over North Tamil Nadu, at isolated places over South Tamil Nadu and over Puducherry & Karaikal area with thunderstorm and lightning at one or two places."

The agency further warned that heavy to very heavy rain is expected at isolated places over Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chennai, while heavy rain is likely in Villuppuram, Chengalpattu, and Puducherry. Accordingly, the IMD has issued an orange alert for Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chennai districts, and a yellow alert for Villuppuram, Chengalpattu, and Puducherry regions.

Cyclone Montha's Path

The Cyclonic Storm Montha - pronounced Mon-Tha - over the southwest and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal has been moving west-northwestwards at a speed of 16 kmph. As of 2:30 a.m. on Monday, it was centered around 600 km east-southeast of Chennai, 680 km south-southeast of Kakinada, and 710 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam.

The weather department said the system is expected to intensify into a Severe Cyclonic Storm by Tuesday morning and is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, during the evening or night of October 28. The storm is expected to bring wind speeds of 90-100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph at landfall.

Chennai to Experience Cooler Weather

Meanwhile, popular weather blogger R. Pradeep John, known as the "Tamil Nadu Weatherman," forecast that Cyclone Montha will bring moderate rains and a noticeable drop in temperature across Chennai.

In his latest update, he wrote: "Cyclone Montha will give moderate rains to Chennai overall. It will also bring very chill weather to Chennai. Very heavy rains are going to miss the city, though north Chennai will receive more rainfall - around 50-70 mm - compared to south Chennai, which may get 10-50 mm."

He added that heavy rains are likely over Gummidipoondi, Ponneri, and Pulicat areas near the Andhra border, with a possibility of spillover to North Chennai. Rains are expected to begin by Monday morning, continuing through the day with occasional intense spells before easing by Tuesday morning.

"So Pa groups get ready to school tomorrow even if there are rains, it will be manageable ones," the blogger humorously noted.