After witnessing poor Northeast Monsoon rain in November, the outlook for December also looks bleak for Chennai. The first three days of the month have passed and there is no forecast of rain in Chennai soon, indicating that December rain could be deficit.
The variability of Northeast Monsoon rain in December is very high. For example, Chennai received 86 mm of rain in December last year against the monthly average of 191 mm. In 2004, the figure was even more abysmal at 6.8 mm, while in 2005, 421.5 mm of rain was recorded against the average of 191 mm. The all-time high is 699.3 mm, recorded way back in 1946.
Though, the above figures show some record rain during the month, the chances of Northeast Monsoon repeating itself is poor this time as December looks to follow the November pattern. Chennai received only 176 mm of rain in November against the monthly average of 407 mm, which is over 50% short.
November is the rainiest month for Tamil Nadu but the state saw only three spells of rain. The first two spells were in the first half of the month when Chennai also received good rain but during the last spell from November 27 to November 29 Chennai went dry. Rain was mainly confined to south coastal parts during this time.
October, was the month when Chennai received surplus rain. The city recorded 329.6 mm of rain against the average of 279 mm, despite the Northeast Monsoon arriving late, by October 20.
