Chennai
oi-Prakash KL
Several
parts
of
Tamil
Nadu
witnessed
widespread
rainfall
on
New
Year’s
Day,
prompting
the
Regional
Meteorological
Centre
(RMC),
Chennai,
to
place
five
districts
under
a
yellow
alert
on
January
1.
According
to
the
weather
agency,
heavy
rain
is
likely
to
occur
at
isolated
places
over
the
Ghat
areas
of
Coimbatore
district,
Nilgiris,
Tirunelveli,
Thoothukudi
and
Kanyakumari
districts
during
the
day.
Tamil
Nadu’s
RMC
issued
a
yellow
alert
for
five
districts
on
January
1
due
to
heavy
rainfall;
Chennai’s
Perambur
received
the
highest
rainfall
at
11
cm,
with
temperature
fluctuations
also
noted
across
the
state.
In
its
daily
weather
bulletin,
the
RMC
stated
that
the
rainfall
activity
was
influenced
by
prevailing
atmospheric
conditions
that
favoured
thunderstorm
development
along
the
coast
and
interior
parts
of
the
State.
The
alert
indicates
the
possibility
of
heavy
rain
spells
that
could
disrupt
normal
activities
in
vulnerable
regions,
particularly
in
hilly
and
coastal
districts.
Chennai
woke
up
to
heavy
showers
on
the
first
day
of
the
New
Year,
with
several
parts
of
the
city
receiving
rainfall
well
above
forecast
levels.
According
to
official
data,
Perambur
(Ward
67)
recorded
the
highest
rainfall
in
the
city,
measuring
11
cm.
Ennore
(Ward
03)
followed
closely
with
10
cm,
while
Ennore
Automatic
Weather
Station
in
neighbouring
Tiruvallur
district
recorded
9
cm.
Other
areas
in
Chennai
also
reported
significant
rainfall.
Kathivakkam
received
7
cm,
while
Wimco
Nagar,
Maduravoyal,
Ayanavaram
Taluk
Office,
Anna
Nagar
West,
Perambur,
Manali
and
Red
Hills
recorded
5
cm
each.
Outside
the
Chennai
region,
Dindigul
district
received
6
cm
of
rainfall,
while
K.Paramathi
in
Karur
district
also
recorded
5
cm.
Mahabalipuram
in
Chengalpattu
district
saw
5
cm
of
rain.
Weather
officials
said
the
rainfall
pattern
was
unusual
for
this
time
of
the
year
and
exceeded
initial
projections.
Popular
weather
blogger
R.
Pradeep
John
noted
that
the
intensity
of
rainfall,
particularly
over
North
Chennai,
came
as
a
surprise.
“What
a
start
to
the
2026
New
Year!
North
Chennai
is
scoring
100
mm.
Light
to
moderate
rains
are
happening
across
the
city.
This
was
well
above
expectations,
especially
since
most
models
showed
hardly
any
meaningful
rainfall,” he
said.
He
also
pointed
out
that
the
rain-bearing
system
extended
into
interior
districts
such
as
Karur,
Dindigul
and
Tiruvannamalai,
contrary
to
earlier
model
forecasts.
Another
weather
monitoring
handle,
Chennai
Rains,
cautioned
residents
about
intermittent
heavy
spells
through
the
day.
In
a
post
on
X,
it
stated
that
a
fairly
intense
thunderstorm
system
was
hovering
off
the
coast
and
could
trigger
additional
rainfall
over
land
areas.
Localities
such
as
Anna
Nagar,
Kovalam
and
stretches
along
the
East
Coast
Road
experienced
intermittent
showers
through
the
night
and
early
morning
hours.
Meanwhile,
the
RMC
reported
a
noticeable
change
in
temperature
patterns
across
the
State.
Minimum
temperatures
rose
by
2
to
3
degrees
Celsius
at
a
few
places
over
North
Interior
Tamil
Nadu,
while
no
large
change
was
observed
over
the
rest
of
Tamil
Nadu,
Puducherry
and
Karaikal
during
the
past
24
hours.
Minimum
temperatures
were
above
normal
by
2
to
4
degrees
Celsius
at
many
places
across
the
State
and
the
Union
Territories.
Erode
recorded
the
highest
maximum
temperature
in
Tamil
Nadu
at
33.6
degrees
Celsius.
Karur
Paramathi
registered
the
lowest
minimum
temperature
in
the
plains
at
20.5
degrees
Celsius,
while
Uthagamandalam
recorded
the
lowest
minimum
temperature
in
the
hill
areas
at
9.2
degrees
Celsius.
For
Chennai,
the
weather
department
has
forecast
light
to
moderate
rain
with
thunderstorms
and
lightning
in
some
areas.
The
maximum
temperature
is
expected
to
hover
around
29
degrees
Celsius,
while
the
minimum
temperature
is
likely
to
be
around
23
degrees
Celsius.
