Tamil Nadu Weather: RMC Issues Heavy Rain Warning for 10 Districts; Chennai Set for Evening Thunderstorms

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has released its latest weather brief, noting scattered rainfall across Tamil Nadu over the past 24 hours, while the neighboring regions of Puducherry and Karaikal experienced completely dry weather. Thiruchuzhi in the Virudhunagar district recorded the state's highest rainfall at 22.0 mm.

Maximum temperatures across the region showed no significant changes over the last day. While most areas in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal maintained near-normal temperatures, isolated pockets in Tamil Nadu saw daytime mercury levels rise up to 2°C above the seasonal average. Madurai Airport registered the state's highest maximum temperature at a scorching 39.0°C. Meanwhile, night temperatures dropped to a cool 23.0°C at the Coimbatore airport, marking the lowest in the plains, while Uthagamandalam recorded a chilly 12.8°C to log the lowest minimum temperature in the hill regions.

Forecasters have issued a series of heavy rainfall warnings for the upcoming days, primarily targeting the Western Ghats and southern districts. Heavy downpours are expected at isolated places in the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts on Thursday.

By Friday, the wet spell is projected to expand significantly to ten districts, bringing heavy rain to the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, and Kanyakumari, as well as the Ghat areas of Virudhunagar, Tenkasi, and Tirunelveli. This intense weather pattern will largely persist into Saturday across the same regions before contracting on Sunday to impact only Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, and Theni districts.

For Chennai city and its immediate neighborhood, weather officials predict partly cloudy skies over the next 48 hours. Daytime temperatures in the capital are expected to hover between 38°C and 39°C, while minimum temperatures will rest between 28°C and 29°C. However, residents can look forward to some respite from the summer heat, as moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning is highly likely to occur during the evening and night hours on both Thursday and Friday.