Heavy rain expected in many districts in the next 24 hours

 Heavy rain expected in many  districts in the next 24 hours

Meteorological Department says north T.N. districts will get widespread rain. A low-pressure area has formed under the influence of the upper air cyclonic circulation over southwest Arabian Sea

Monsoon effect: Heavy to very heavy rain is likely in Chennai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore, and the Nilgiris on Monday.B. Jothi Ramalingam

The Hindu Bureau  19.10.2026

CHENNAI/COIMBATORE

Heavy rain, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds, is expected in Chennai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore, and the Nilgiris districts in the next 24 hours.

The Meteorological Department has said heavy rain was also likely to occur in isolated places with thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds, reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph, in several districts in the State, including Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Tiruppur, Tenkasi, Ranipet, Dindigul, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Salem, Theni, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Madurai, Sivaganga, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Villupuram, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi, Tirupattur, Erode, and Namakkal, and Puducherry and Karaikal.

As the Northeast monsoon has been in the active phase, many parts of the State have been experiencing rainfall. “There exists a trough from Lakshadweep to west-central Bay of Bengal across Karnataka and south Andhra Pradesh between 1.5-3.1 km above mean sea level. Also, an upper air circulation is over north-interior Karnataka and neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level,” the department said.

Under the influence of the upper air cyclonic circulation over southwest Arabian Sea, a low-pressure area formed early on Sunday and it may become more marked in the next 24 hours. Heavy to very heavy rain is likely at isolated places in Chennai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore, and the Nilgiris districts on Monday. There will be widespread heavy rainfall in north Tamil Nadu districts. The next day, Theni, Tirunelveli, and Madurai districts will get very heavy rain and most of the State is expected to receive heavy showers.

On Wednesday, the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Madurai, Theni, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Dindigul districts will receive very heavy rain.

Following this, rainfall intensity is expected to reduce, with Western Ghats, delta, and western districts expected to receive heavy rain. On Sunday afternoon, mobile alerts were received saying “As Chennai will be witnessing very heavy rainfall, people are asked to stay careful. Please follow the official weather reports.”

The message was sent by the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority. While the Meteorological Department issued a red alert for Chennai on Sunday afternoon, it was withdrawn later in the evening.

‘Personnel mobilised’

Meanwhile, Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management K.A. Sengottaiyan said the government had mobilised 1.40 lakh personnel, including government officials, volunteers from non-governmental organisations, and others, as part of its preparedness measures for the Northeast monsoon.

Speaking to mediapersons at the Coimbatore airport, he added that 250 boats and their crew (fishermen) were also ready for deployment to carry out rescue operations in places prone to flooding.