Two Bay of Bengal Lows Likely This Week, Orange Alert for Chennai
Image: The Week / PTI
Two low-pressure areas are likely to form over the Bay of Bengal this week, weather officials said on Tuesday, 20 October, as Chennai and several Tamil Nadu districts stayed under an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai expects the first low over the southwest Bay of Bengal, off the north Tamil Nadu coast, within 24 hours, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a second is likely over the southeast and adjoining east-central Bay around 23 October, DT Next and UNI reported.
Orange Alert Holds for Chennai
RMC Chennai has kept Chennai among the districts on orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain, and issued a yellow alert for isolated heavy rain in Ranipet, Kancheepuram, Kallakurichi, Tiruchirappalli, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Sivagangai, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari. IMD’s orange alert for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal means isolated places could get 115.6–204.4 mm in a day, Down To Earth reported. Commuters should expect waterlogged roads, and farmers in the delta should keep fields drained. See IPB’s earlier report on the heavy rain alert for the delta districts.
Circulation Moving In From Thailand
IMD said an upper-air cyclonic circulation over the Gulf of Thailand and adjoining Thailand and Myanmar is likely to move into the north Andaman Sea by Wednesday morning and then west-northwestwards. Under its influence the second low is expected to form, then move north-northwestwards and intensify, DT Next reported. The Met office said the system would further intensify northeast monsoon rain over Tamil Nadu, according to UNI. IMD had already forecast isolated heavy rain over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from 23 to 25 October.
Kerala Under Yellow Alert Till Thursday
On the west coast, IMD has issued a yellow alert for 7–11 cm of rain in seven Kerala districts from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam on Tuesday, rising to 10 districts on Wednesday, Onmanorama reported. Squally winds of 35–45 kmph, gusting to 55 kmph, are likely off Kerala, Karnataka and Lakshadweep until 23 October, and fishermen have been told not to go to sea. The Arabian Sea low is expected to weaken by 21 October and move towards the Somali coast.
IMD has not yet said how strong the second Bay of Bengal low may become or which coast it may approach; its next bulletins will give the track.
Source: IMD all-India weather bulletin, 20 October. Also based on reporting by DT Next, UNI, Down To Earth and Onmanorama.
Image: The Week / PTI.
