The last day of April saw Summer 2018 notch up a couple of gears across Tamil Nadu with many places seeing its hottest day of the year. Vellore & Tiruttani recorded the first 42°C for the year while 6 IMD observatories crossed 40°C. Both the IMD observatories at Chennai saw its hottest day of the year with Meenambakkam touching 39°C for the first time this year.
In a welcome relief to the interior areas of West & Northwest Tamil Nadu after what was one of the hottest days many parts of Coimbatore, Erode, Dharmapuri, Salem, Krishnagiri & Vellore districts recorded moderate thunderstorms with few places like Salem, Coimbatore recording fairly intense thunderstorms aided by day time heating and wind convergence under the influence of Westerlies pushing inland.
If yesterday was hot today in all probability we are likely to see the Hotter Phase of Summer 2018 as temperatures are expected to increase by a degree or two over most places of North Tamil Nadu. Large swathes of the state will possibly see temperatures touch 40°C with few places in the districts of Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Kanchipuram, Perambalur, Ariyalur , Karur, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai & Virudhunagar could see temperatures possibly cross 41°C at a few places.
Chennai saw its hottest day yesterday and models indicate today also another hot day ahead with possibly a fair chance for Meenambakkam to record the first 40°C and Nungambakkam to record its first 100°F. Western suburbs like Avadi, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam etc could see temperatures around 41°C while once again there is a fair possibility for places like Tiruttani & Vellore to touch 42°C.
Like yesterday hot day time conditions could provide ideal platform for convective thunderstorms to develop in the interior areas of the state. The wind induced instability where in Easterlies & Westerlies meet will possibly aid some of these thunderstorms to develop into fairly intense ones in a few places. Parts of Coimbatore, Erode, Nilgirs in West Interior TN along with one or two places in the districts of Madurai, Theni & Virudhunagar could see these heavy thunderstorms develop late in the afternoon / evening. With temperatures expected to cross 40°C across most parts of the state it would be advisable to stay indoors during the afternoon and stay sufficiently hydrated to prevent heat stroke conditions.