After a weak start on Wednesday, the northeast monsoon on Thursday brought powerful thunderstorms over Chennai and its vicinity and triggered widespread heavy rainfall that continued well into the morning. Chennai woke up to a typical monsoon day with overcast skies and sporadic rain that led to water-logging in some areas. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that the rain over the city and neighboring districts will continue for next three hours. Many weather stations in and around Chennai recorded heavy rainfall as thunderstorms pounded throughout Wednesday night and the early hours of

Nungambakkam recorded nearly 13 centimetre of rain till 8.30 morning, on Thursday. Many other weather stations in Anna University, Ennore, Red Hills, Satyabama University and Meenambakkam recorded moderate to heavy rain, ranging from 13.4 to 5 cm velocity.

S. Balachandran, Deputy Director of Meteorology, Chennai, said an upper air circulation over southwest Bay of Bengal off north Tamil Nadu coast had influenced intense thunderstorms accompanied by lightning. The moist north-easterly winds that penetrated the coastal areas too triggered rain. Such intense rain with loud thunder and lightning is possible during the monsoon. Chennai will continue to experience rainfall for the next few days, he added.

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