Chennai Rains: Heavy Downpour Brings Thunderstorms, Waterlogging

Chennai woke up to a surprise early on Friday morning, as a heavy downpour hit the city, bringing with it thunderstorms and bright lightning. The rain, which was not forecasted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) as severe, caused waterlogging in many areas, making travel difficult for daily commuters. The city, which had been experiencing extreme heat for several days, was expecting moderate rainfall over the next two days, but the actual rainfall exceeded expectations.

Key Takeaways:

The IMD had forecast only moderate showers for Chennai over the next two days, but the city received much heavier rainfall this morning.
Parts of Chennai, including Annanagar, Guindy, Kodambakkam, Madipakkam, Vadapalani, Ashok Pillar, and Koyambedu saw intense thunderstorms.
The heavy rainfall led to waterlogging in many areas, causing inconvenience to daily commuters.
Roads that were already affected by the ongoing metro construction in certain areas saw water quickly piling up, making travel even more difficult.
Municipal Corporation workers have been deployed to clear the water from key roads.
The IMD has issued an orange alert, predicting moderate rainfall in Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Cuddalore areas on Friday.
The Chennai Regional Meteorological Centre has said that between 5 am and now, several parts of the city have received around 4 to 5 cm of rainfall.
The forecast also mentions that thunderstorms with lightning could occur at one or two places in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal until August 23.
With the monsoon season underway, frequent rains are expected across Tamil Nadu, with chances of moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms in several districts.

Statistics:

Rainfall by 5 am in Chennai: around 4-5 cm in various parts of the city.
Maximum temperature in Chennai on Friday: expected to be around 35°C.
Minimum temperature in Chennai on Friday: expected to be between 27°C and 28°C.
Forecast for August 23: thunderstorms with lightning could occur at one or two places in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal.

Sources:

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)
Chennai Regional Meteorological Centre
Contify.com