Light evening drizzles cooled Chennai after a long cloudy day.
| Photo Credit: J. Johan Sathyadas
The persisting well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is likely to provide relief from the searing heat in Tamil Nadu for a few more days, while heavy rainfall may lash parts of the State till Sunday.
Many parts of the State have been experiencing relatively less warm weather and near-normal temperatures for some days now. On Friday, various regions, including interior districts like Madurai and Karur, recorded below normal temperatures. Tiruttani recorded the highest temperature for the day at 35.6 degree Celsius.
Mild weather prevailed over Chennai due to an overcast sky and light showers. Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam weather stations registered 32.7 degrees Celsius and 33.1 degrees Celsius respectively, which is nearly five degrees Celsius below average for the day.
Yellow alert
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has issued a yellow alert indicating heavy rainfall in pockets of Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, and Theni districts on Saturday.
Most parts of the State may experience rainfall with coastal districts and south Tamil Nadu likely to receive moderate rainfall on Saturday. Heavy rainfall may cover a few districts on Sunday as well.
According to the RMC, the well-marked low-pressure area persists over southwest and adjoining west central Bay of Bengal along with an associated cyclonic circulation. This would influence rainfall over parts of Tamil Nadu for the next few days.
The weather system has also improved the conditions favourable for the advancement of Southwest monsoon over parts of south Bay of Bengal, Andaman sea and Andaman and Nicobar Islands by Saturday.
Various places, including Puducherry (8 cm), Cuddalore, Karaikal (2 cm each), Thanjavur (1 cm), received rainfall till 6 p.m. on Friday.
D.S. Pai, Head, RMC, Chennai, said the prevailing weather system would influence a wet spell till May 19. Cloud cover and scattered rainfall is expected to reduce temperature levels across the State for the next three or four days. Chennai too has prospects of moderate rainfall and below normal temperatures on Saturday.
Southwest monsoon
Southwest monsoon is likely to set in four days ahead of its normal onset date over Andaman sea. However, the monsoon’s advance over the Andaman region may not necessarily indicate an early onset over mainland Kerala. The department is monitoring the progress, he said.
Published – May 16, 2026 12:20 am IST
