HIGH ALERT! CHENNAI TO SEE HEAVY RAINFALL; PARTS OF TAMIL NADU TO BE HIT BY CYCLONE 

A low-pressure belt is currently forming over the Bay of Bengal which is all set to make Chennai experience heavy to very heavy rainfall.

A cyclone is also expected to make landfall between Mamallapuram and Karaikal by Wednesday (November 25) noon or afternoon. Tamil Nadu has been kept under a ‘red warning which urges residents and authorities to take action for Tuesday and Wednesday, due to likelihood of isolated extremely heavy rainfall.

The cyclone has been named Nivar and is steering itself towards the northern Tamil Nadu coast. According to Times of India (ToI) report, rainfall of 6cm to 10cm is expected.

As per the recent weather system, Monday will be mostly cloudy with light drizzle. It will start raining on Tuesday as the cyclone draws nearer to the coast. When it starts to make landfall on Wednesday, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Puducherry and Chennai are forecast to have heavy rain. 

Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said in the next 12 hours, a well-marked low pressure in the Bay of Bengal closer to the Tamil Nadu coast will intensify into a depression, and will develop into a cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours, moving at 18kmph speed towards the coast.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the regional meteorological centre in Chennai S Balachandran said that rain would start in coastal districts on Monday and intensify step-by-step. Also, a warning has been given out to fishermen to not venture into the sea till November 25. All the fishermen were asked to return to the shore immediately.

As Cyclone Nivar heads toward the Tamil Nadu coast, the Nagapattinam district administration has advised fishermen to keep their boats safe to prevent damage, the New Indian Express reports.