Chennai, July 22 (IANS) Heavy rain is expected to lash the Nilgiris district and the Ghat areas of Coimbatore district, with the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) forecasting intense rainfall activity at isolated locations on Tuesday.

The warning comes as Tamil Nadu continues to witness a change in weather patterns driven by an upper-air cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal.

According to the RMC, the cyclonic circulation lies over south Odisha and extends up to 5.8 km above mean sea level, tilting southeastward with height. This system, which initially stretched from south Odisha to north coastal Andhra Pradesh, is influencing widespread weather activity across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

In Chennai, a dip in temperature was recorded after widespread drizzle and overcast skies on Monday.

Nungambakkam recorded a maximum temperature of 31.3 degrees Celsius, marking a departure of 4.2 degrees from the normal, while Meenambakkam recorded 31.7 degrees, with a deviation of 3.9 degrees from the usual maximum.

The weather department has predicted partly cloudy skies for Chennai on Tuesday, with light showers likely in some parts of the city and suburbs.

Thunderstorms and lightning are also expected at a few places across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, along with wind speeds reaching 40–50 kmph in some areas.

The forecast indicates that light to moderate rain is likely at isolated places across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry till July 27.

The temperature in Chennai is expected to remain between 32-35 degrees Celsius during the day and around 26-28 degrees Celsius at night for the next five days.

Thanjavur recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state at 38 degrees Celsius on Monday, while Karur Paramathi reported the lowest minimum temperature at 21 degrees Celsius among the plains. Meanwhile, Chennai has received 19.8 cm of rainfall from June 1 to July 21 this year — significantly higher than the normal average of 13.17 cm for the same period, according to RMC data.

–IANS

aal/dpb