IMD: Pleasant weather to continue in Chennai over weekend

Chennai: Residents woke up to cloudy and pleasant weather on Friday as the city continued to record below-normal daytime temperatures during what is usually the peak summer season. Traces of rainfall across several parts of the city brought temperatures down to 32.7 Celsius in Nungambakkam and 33.1 Celsius in Meenambakkam — around 4.7 and 5.3 below normal.The current weather pattern, driven by a well-marked low-pressure area persisting over the southwest Bay of Bengal, is likely to continue on Saturday as well.Meteorologists said several areas in and around Chennai have been receiving intermittent rainfall as the weather system has remained nearly stationary over the past few days."The system has not moved much since it formed, which is why Chennai continues to get rain spells. Models show it may weaken and move inland, favouring more rainfall over the city. Similar weather may persist at least for the next two days," said V R Durai, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, IMD.On Saturday, the city and suburbs may receive light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning. A generally cloudy sky may keep maximum temperatures around 34 degrees Celsius and minimum temperatures at 28-29 Celsius. Meteorologists said the pleasant weather may continue till the middle of next week, after which a shift in wind direction associated with the advancing monsoon could push temperatures sharply higher over north TN. The IMD on Friday forecast the onset of the southwest monsoon within the next 24 hours."After five days, the westerlies may arrive due to the onset of monsoon. Weather models show this may lead to rise in temperature over north TN," the IMD official said.Blogger Pradeep John said ‘cool' conditions may last another two to three days. After May 20, dry northwesterly winds may return and temperatures could rise quickly. In an earlier online post, he said temperatures in the city may touch 41-42 Celsius next week and remain high till the end of the month. "There are rain chances over some parts of Chennai till Monday," he said.