Cyclone Nivar keeps everyone waiting, landfall near Puducherry post-midnight

CHENNAI: Severe cyclonic storm "Nivar" has kept the entire state machinery waiting to shift gears at will. 

The slow-moving storm is expected to make the landfall post Wednesday midnight. It has weakened and gained intensity on multiple occasions throughout the day. 

Scattered heavy to very heavy rain with isolated extremely heavy rain is likely to occur over Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Chennai, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Myladuthirai, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Kallakurchi, Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai districts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal. 

Heavy rain is also likely to occur at a few places over Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Tirupattur, Krishnagiri, Tiruchirapalli, Salem and Dharmapuri districts of Tamil Nadu, the officials at Regional Meteorological Centre here said. 

At 8.30 pm, the storm was 80 km east-southeast of Cuddalore, 85 km from Puducherry and 160 km from Chennai coast. It is moving northwestwards with a speed of 14 kmph. 

S Balachandran, deputy director-general of meteorology at RMC, said wind speeds of 36 kmph were observed in Nagapattinam, Karaikal 25 kmph, Cuddalore 18 kmph, Puducherry 18 kmph and Chennai 18. 

According to rainfa data recorded from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm, Cuddalore received highest rainfall of 98 mm, Puducherry 82 mm, Chennai and Karaikal received 69 mm each.

Authorities said the storm will intensify into very severe cyclonic storm in next couple of hours and wind speed of 120-130 kmph gusting to 145 kmph can be felt during the landfall around Puducherry. 

Convective cloud bands lies over coastal Tamil Nadu, Balachandran said. In the post landfall outlook, IMD authorities said even after landfall, the system is likely to maintain its cyclone intensity for about 6 hours and weaken 
gradually. 

"Under its influence rainfall at most/many places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places 
with isolated extremely heavy falls likely to occur over Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur, Vellore districts of Tamil Nadu and Chittoor, Kurnool, Prakasam and Cuddappa districts of Andhra Pradesh on November 26. Gale wind speed reaching 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph very likely to prevail over interior districts (Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur, Vellore) of Tamilnadu and Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh from Thursday morning to forenoon," the outlook reads.