Weather in Chennai turned unusually rainy on Sunday, when 52 mm of rain lashed the coastal city. This amount of rain was the heaviest Chennai has received in the entire season, beginning March.
Rain in Chennai in the month of June is not heavy as it lies in the rain shadow area. Owing to this the city observes less rain in the Southwest Monsoon season and more during the Northeast Monsoon in the winter months.
According to weather data available with Skymet meteorology Division in India, the normal rainfall figure for Chennai in the month of June is 52 mm and till now 77 mm of rain have already been recorded, of which 52 mm occurred on 8th June and 22 mm on 3rd June.
“Heavy spells of rain in Chennai, like the one observed on Sunday are not very common. Though there have been instances in the previous years when rain in Chennai has been unusually heavy of over 100 mm. Rain figures in Chennai are already in excess and more rain in next 48 hours could further raise the number. Therefore this year could also be one of those years when Chennai gets more rain than normal”, says AVM (Retd) G.P Sharma.
Weather records show 2008, 2010, 2011 were excess rainfall years in Chennai when 126 mm, 137 mm and 130 mm of rain occurred in the month of June respectively. Rain in 2012 and 2013 was 25 mm and 34 mm respectively, deficit by over 50%.
Forecast suggest light rain in Chennai is likely during the next 48 hours due to a a sharp rise in the mercury levels which will lead to accumulation of moisture. Humid southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea travelling up to Chennai may further add to the moisture content. The maximum in Chennai on Wednesday was a whopping 40⁰C. Maximum in Chennai is expected to be around the same for Thursday and Friday.
