Chennai likely to get light rain this weekend: Weathermen

CHENNAI: While the southwest monsoon has arrived over Kerala, weathermen said there are chances of light rain in and around Chennai on Saturday due to favourable winds steering rain clouds towards the coast. While IMD has forecast rainfall in the delta region, western ghats and other interior districts in the coming days, Chennai and some parts of coastal Tamil Nadu are likely to receive rain between Saturday and Monday. Weather bloggers said there are chances of spells till the middle of next week after which a low pressure is likely to form over northern Bay of Bengal.
IMD has forecast light rain in some areas of the city and its neighbourhood for the next 48 hours. The sky condition may be partly cloudy while the maximum and minimum temperatures may be around 38C and 28C. An official said coastal Tamil Nadu is still experiencing entry of easterly winds which are preventing convective clouds from shifting towards the coastal region. Hence, much of the rain activity occurs in the interior north Tamil Nadu districts. An IMD forecast earlier said, "The westerly winds during monsoon onset on Thursday would be weak."
One of the reasons for the weak westerlies was due to the two cyclones that have caused disturbances in the atmosphere which would take time to revert to its earlier condition. But all that would change from June 5 when the westerlies would begin strengthening and by June 7, a steady flow of westerlies would gain pace, officials said. "The steering winds at 1.5km to 3km would shift the rain clouds from interior regions like Vellore towards the coastal areas. So, we can expect light rain from June 5. Some convective activity may even happen closer to the city and western parts of Chennai may receive some spells. Before a low-pressure form over Bay of Bengal around June 9, the city has good chances of spells," blogger Pradeep John said.