In keeping with the trend of abnormal temperatures in Tamil Nadu since the turn of August yesterday also saw a hot day across the state with Madurai notching up 39 degrees while Karur & Chennai AP recorded higher than 38 degrees day time temperature. Many places stayed above 37 degreees particularly along the coastal belt thanks to the strong NW winds during the early part of the day. Fortunately the last couple of days Sea Breeze has been a saviour for the coastal areas bringing down the temperatures.
The Deep Depression in Central India is continuing to bring heavy rains to the region. Aided by the trough still showing good outflow the strong Tropical Disturbance is expected to travel Westwards and possibly weaken over the next 24 hours or so as East India get ready to welcome the next disturbance which is moving in from South China Sea. This one is likely to reach North Bay in the next 24 – 48 hours or so and could possibly strengthen through its interaction with the monsoon trough. East India could see another bout of heavy rains early part of the week on account of this disturbance.
Not much respite is expected for the interior places of Tamil Nadu as a sizzling Saturday expected in these places with possibly one or two places near Madurai & Vellore expected to possibly see temperatures closer to 39 degrees. Vellore which recorded its hottest August day in 6 years a couple of days back could repeat it again today. The coastal areas are likely to benefit from early sea breeze around Noon which could bring a relief to these places.
Models are indicating the sea breeze front to move inland all the way up to about 100 kms inside which could possibly trigger some thunderstorms to the West of Chennai. Unfortunately the moisture availability across layers is pretty poor due to which the storms may not intensify to make a good journey towards the coast. Nevertheless stray storms could bring passing showers to parts o the city. West Peninsular Coast will continue to remain weak due to the absence of any synoptic support to aid the monsoon surge.