Chennai: After the intense weekend spell, several parts of the city and suburbs received another round of rain on Tuesday. However, this could be the last widespread rainfall spell this month, as a developing low-pressure area is likely to shift rain activity towards southern Tamil Nadu, leaving the northern districts largely dry.The IMD has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain in three southern districts and a yellow alert for heavy rain in 19 districts on Wednesday. Chennai is likely to receive moderate rain. The maximum temperature is likely to be 30°C-31°C and minimum 25°C-26°C.V R Durai, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said the low-pressure area likely to form over the Gulf of Mannar could move towards Kerala, drawing moisture away from north Tamil Nadu. Another low-pressure area may form near the Andaman Islands around Oct 23 and move northwest towards north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha, again pulling moisture away from the region.“This may leave near-dry weather over north Tamil Nadu till the end of the month,” he said. Cloud cover may persist, keeping maximum temperatures around 31°C-32°C, though temperatures could rise during the last few days of Oct.The IMD official said the warmer Bay of Bengal could continue to generate weather systems in the coming weeks, potentially bringing more rain to Chennai.Tuesday’s rain left 6.2mm at Nungambakkam and 6.6mm at Meenambakkam. Automatic rain gauges recorded 24mm at Good Will School in Villivakkam and 7.5mm at Puzhal.The recent rain spells have pushed Chennai’s monthly rainfall to 167.2mm, around 37% above normal. Kancheepuram has recorded 115.1mm, 12% above normal, while Tiruvallur received 114.1mm, 11% above normal. Chengalpet, however, recorded 70.9mm, around 37% below normal.
