Chennai: Cyclone Burevi has weakened into a deep depression and is expected to cross the Tamilnadu coast today, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. However, heavy rains are reported in Chennai city and its suburbs this morning.
The IMD had earlier predicted that Burevi, which crossed the Sri Lanka coast on Wednesday night, would hit the TN coast as a cyclonic storm.
“Cyclonic storm Burevi over Gulf of Mannar weakened into a deep depression on 3 December and is close to Ramanathapuram district coast, about 20 kilometres southwest of Pamban and 210 km east-northeast of Kanyakumari,” the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said on Thursday.
The associated wind speed is about 55-65 kmph, gusting up to 75 kmph, it added.
A bulletin issued by the Met office on Thursday said the cyclonic storm over North Sri Lanka moved west- northwestwards with a speed of 13 kmph and lay centered over Gulf of Mannar about 40 km west-northwest of Mannar, 40km east-south east of Pamban and 260 km east-northeast of Kanniyakumari.
The associated wind speed is about 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph. After moving nearly westwards across Pamban area last afternoon, it would move west-southwestwards and cross south Tamilnadu coast between Pamban and Kanniyakumari as a cyclonic storm with wind speed of 70-80 gusting to 90 kmph.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall occurred at a few places with isolated extremely heavy falls over south Tamilnadu in Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Theni, Madurai and Sivagangai districts and over south Kerala Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Alappuzha, and isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over south Tamilnadu and south Kerala today.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur at isolated places is very likely over north Tamilnadu, Puducherry, Mahe and Karaikal and North Kerala with isolated heavy rainfall today.