Coastal parts of Tamil Nadu which got battered the day before, had a respite from incessant downpours yesterday. Earlier, places like Puducherry, Karaikal, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Parangipettai witnessed over 100mm rainfall in 24 hours. Even, observatories at the capital city of Tamil Nadu had measured moderate to heavy showers. The deluge amongst all these was at Nagapattinam recording 205.5mm rainfall in 24 hours. Weather conditions were better yesterday, with heavy rains confined only to smaller pockets. Hardly any three-digit rainfall got recorded, both along and off the coast.
Weather activity was triggered in association with a trough extending from Sri Lanka to North Tamil Nadu. Also, there was a cyclonic circulation in the equatorial region activating this trough. In view of the westward shift of this system and weakening as well, conditions relatively improved in the past 24 hours. However, it is not yet over and done. Yesterday, Karaikal and Nagapattinam registered moderate rains of 39mm and 25mm respectively.
The satellite imagery still displays the cloud cluster covering Sri Lanka, southern and central parts of Tamil Nadu and the north-south stretch of Kerala. Isolated heavy rains can not be ruled out over South Tamil Nadu and Kerala. A few paces still facing the risk of heavy rains include Kanyakumari, Tondi, Pamban, Tuticorin, Cochin, Alappuzha, Punalur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Wayanad and Kannur. North-South stretch of rain belt is also stretching across Coastal Karnataka, Goa and Konkan.
Cyclonic circulation will move further westward and take the trough along, far to the west, at a safe distance from the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Weather activity will reduce tomorrow itself and shrink further, the day after tomorrow. Rain and thundershowers will mostly vacate the region on 11th January and later for the rest of the week or even beyond. The least weather activity is expected over Tamil Nadu and Kerala between 11th and 18th January 2024.