The Northeast Monsoon made a late arrival in Peninsular India this Year. And all the five sub-divisions of the region recorded poor rains during the month of October, which is the beginning of the Northeast Monsoon season.
According to the rainfall records available with Skymet, Tamil Nadu, which receives its bulk of rain during the Northeast Monsoon was deficient by 26% in October. During the same period Coastal Andhra Pradesh observed a shortfall of 67%. South Interior Karnataka and Rayalaseema were also deficient by 28% and 27%, respectively. Kerala was the only sub-division that witnessed a surplus of 5%.
However, November started off with a bang and good rains were recorded in the region during the month, particularly in Tamil Nadu. By November 25, Tamil Nadu had received 485 mm of rain, which was more than the seasonal rainfall (October to December) of 438 mm. In November alone –till November 25 - Tamil Nadu had received 352 mm of rain against the monthly normal of 170 mm.
A couple of cities in the state witnessed record rainfall during November. For instance, Chennai during the month received 1218.6 mm of rain against the monthly average of 407.4 mm which is an all-time record.
Similarly Nagapattinam received a whopping 986.7 mm of rain against the normal of 419.5, which is a ten year high.
Another city that recorded some very good rain in November is Vellore. The city recorded 665 mm of rain against the normal of 147 mm, which is again an all-time high. The previous record was 477 mm, observed in the year 1903.
Karaikal also received 755 mm of rain against the normal off 482 mm, which is a record since the year 2006.
At the moment, the Northeast Monsoon is at its peak before it starts weakening from December 15. So we can expect more heavy rain during this period. The Tamil Nadu coast is largely going to bear the brunt of the weather in terms of heavy rain.
Image Credit: The Hindu
