Chennai, Oct 16:
NorthEast (NE) monsoon has set in over southern peninsular India and Tamil Nadu is expected to get widespread rains, even as the Met office has issued Orange alert for nine districts on Thursday.
It said reversal of wind pattern to easterlies has commenced announcing the arrival of the NE monsoon with Chennai receiving intermittent showers, accompanied by thunderstorms and a cloudy sky since yesterday. Even today, the sun has been playing hide and seek since morning with south coastal and north coastal districts and other regions set to witness widespread rainfall activity.
In an update, Met office said Southwest monsoon has withdrawn from the entire country today. Simultaneously, the Northeast Monsoon rainfall activity has commenced over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, South Interior Karnataka, and Kerala and Mahe today in association with an upper air cyclonic circulation which lies over south Coastal Tamil Nadu and neighbourhood in lower tropospheric levels.
It said easterly/northeasterly winds has set-in over southern peninsular India, south, central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal in lower tropospheric levels. Fairly widespread rainfall occurred over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, and adjoining areas of south Coastal Andhra Pradesh and south Rayalaseema during the past 24 hrs, while heavy rainfall occurred over a few places over Tamil Nadu and Karaikal, and moderate rainfall occurred over many places over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, and south Coastal Andhra Pradesh during the same period.
Yesterday’s upper air cyclonic circulation over Comorin area and neighbourhood now lies over south coastal Tamil Nadu and extends upto 1.5 km above mean sea level. Yesterday’s trough now runs from the above upper air cyclonic circulation over south coastal Tamil Nadu to Northwest Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast across Southwest and Westcentral Bay of Bengal and extends upto 1.5 km above mean sea level.
Met office has issued an Orange alert for the day to nine districts as heavy to very heavy rain with thunderstorm & lightning with gusty winds with speed reaching 40-50 kmph will occur over Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, Erode, Tiruppur, Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Tiruvannamalai districts Heavy rain is likely to occur over cauvery delta, northern and southern districts including Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Karur, Ariyalur, Pudukottai, Villuppuram, Perambalur, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Tenkasi, Kanyakumari, Kallakurichi, Tiruchirappalli, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Ramanathapuram, Ranipet, Sivagangai, Tirunelveli, Dindigul districts, Puducherry and Karaikal area.
Heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places with thunderstorm and lightning is likely to occur over Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, Dindigul, Tenkasi and Madurai districts. Heavy rain will occur in more than 25 districts across the state tomorrow including Erode, Tiruppur, Virudhunagar, Kanyakumari, Cuddalore, Karur, Puducherry, Ariyalur, Pudukottai, Villuppuram, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tiruchirappalli, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Salem, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi, Villuppuram, Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur districts and Karaikal area.
It said Chennai and its adjoining districts, besides Interior and Cauvery delta districts will received heavy rains including in Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Tiruppur, Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Vellore, Ranipet, Kallakurichi, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Erode, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Salem, Ramanathapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Namakkal districts of Tamilnadu Puducherry and Karaikal area on Saturday.
For the next three days, heavy rain will occur over Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruvannamalai, Namakkal ,Tiruppur and Madurai districts and moderate rain at many places will occur over rest of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal area.