Prospects of rain recede as low pressure weakens

This year’s northeast monsoon continued to be a dampener for Chennai, with barely any rain from the low pressure off the coast. Light and sporadic showers hit the northern parts of the city on Thursday, with most southern parts getting no more than a drizzle. The weatherman has said the only hope for any rain on Friday would be if the low pressure intensifies through the night or early morning.

The well-marked low pressure off the coast of northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh was downgraded to a low pressure by Thursday evening. “It could weaken and become only a trough. But there is a tendency for low pressures to intensify during the night or early morning. The only hope for rain is if this happens,” said S R Ramanan, director of the Regional Meteorological Centre.

“Even if there is rain, it is likely to hit only the coastal districts, with very little rainfall inland. There has been little rain this year. We have to hope for something out of this,” he added.

The low pressure that is currently off the coast of northern Tamil Nadu had developed as a deep depression south of Bangladesh and had moved in a sowthwesterly direction, towards TN and AP. The cyclone tracking system of the Indian meteorological department stopped tracking the system on November 18, after it weakened considerably.

Enthusiasts and bloggers tracking the low pressure online have already started discussing the probable date of the withdrawal of the northeast monsoon, and generally predicted that there would be little rainfall that could be expected during the remainder of this season.