Chennai, May 31 (IANS) The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has forecast that the southwest monsoon is likely to advance into parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and adjoining regions by June 3 or 4, bringing widespread rainfall and a gradual drop in temperatures across the southern states.

According to the weather department, the monsoon has already made further progress over large parts of the Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep, the Comorin region and several areas of the Bay of Bengal as of May 30.

Meteorological conditions remain favourable for its continued advancement over the next three to four days.

Chennai witnessed relatively pleasant weather on Saturday with increased cloud cover and temperatures remaining below seasonal norms.

The Nungambakkam observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 35.1 degrees Celsius, significantly lower than the normal maximum of 37.9 degrees Celsius. Similarly, Meenambakkam registered 37.1 degrees Celsius against its normal maximum of 38.6 degrees Celsius.

For Sunday, the RMC has forecast a maximum temperature of around 39 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 29 degrees Celsius in Chennai. Light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds is likely in some parts of the city and its suburbs.

The weather department said daytime temperatures across isolated pockets of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal could remain 2 to 3 degrees Celsius above normal until June 1. However, temperatures are expected to gradually return to near-normal levels from June 2 onwards as monsoon activity intensifies.

The RMC has also issued a heavy rainfall alert for several districts on Sunday. Isolated places in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Theni, Karur, Tiruchirappalli, Namakkal, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Tirupattur, Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram districts, along with Puducherry, are likely to receive heavy rain.

Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph are also expected in many areas.

The weather department said heavy rainfall activity is likely to continue on June 1 and 2, particularly in western and southern districts, including Theni and Tenkasi.

Rainfall data released by the RMC showed that Oothu and Nalumukku in Tirunelveli district, Ammapettai in Erode district and Tholampalayam in Coimbatore district recorded the highest rainfall of 7 cm each on Saturday. Kakkachi in Tirunelveli received 6 cm, while Pambar Dam, Uthangarai, Edappadi, Sankaridurg and Manjolai recorded 5 cm each, reflecting the increasing influence of pre-monsoon weather systems across the State.

–IANS

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