The phrase Hot, Hotter & Hottest is commonly used to refer Chennai’s weather. Though it is an unfortunate truth does that mean Chennai does not have a spring season at all?
In strict weather terms its difficult to say Chennai has a spring season but there exists a phase of weather which could be called the spring season of Chennai.
So how does this spring season happen and when does Chennai gets its summer. A simple easy to understand explanation from COMK in the
After the short winter that Chennai sees during January & February months the advent of March brings higher day time temperature and warmer night time temperatures. But during this phase the day time temperature does not become oppressive and the night time temperatures continue to be comfortable.
One important reason for this is the presence of Easterly Winds which form the back bone of the Northeast Monsoon for Tamil Nadu. The Easterly winds act like a large scale sea breeze over the coastal Tamil Nadu by keeping the temperatures under check.
So when does actual summer happen for Chennai. Just like how the spring is closely connected to the Northeast Monsoon the summer of Chennai is closely connected to the Southwest Monsoon.
As days progress when we get to April the winds change from Easterly to Westerly bringing forth the dry hot air blown across the land increasing the day time temperatures and making even the nights uncomfortable. It is during this time when we look forward to sea breeze hoping it sets in early and strong giving us some respite from the heat.
To k now when our summer would start keep a close watch on the wind patterns.