© PTIA pedestrian on a waterlogged street as widespread rains lashed parts of Tamil Nadu.
The state witnessed heavy downpours, with Tenkasi's Ayikudi recording over 30 cm of rainfall, propelling the district from a deficit to an excess in the northeast monsoon season.
In Tirunelveli district, Oothu received a whopping 54 cm, while Ambasamudram and Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi district each recorded 37 cm. Other notable measurements include Kannadaian Anicut and Kakkachi in Tirunelveli with 35 cm each, and Manjolai at 32 cm.
The intense rainfall has led to substantial inflows into key reservoirs. Poondi reservoir is getting inflows close to 13,000 cusecs prompting the Water Resources Department to release 12,000 cusecs of water to manage the surplus.
The gates of Chembarambakkam dam were also opened on Friday morning with water levels nearing full capacity. People living in the low-lying areas downstream of these dams may witness flooding, if the inflows continue to rise.
While there would be a brief break in the rains, another low pressure area is likely to form next week and head towards Tamil Nadu by December 17 bringing another round of heavy rainfall. Tamil Nadu has already surpassed the season's average rainfall.
From October 1 to December 12, the State has received 465 mm of rainfall as against the average of 445 mm, with 18 days still left before the monsoon draws to a close statistically.
Weather blogger K Srikanth said this would be one of those rare years where almost all districts will end up getting surplus rainfall. "As on date, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar got deficit rainfall and few other districts were just below normal. But, by the end of the season, the gap will be bridged."
Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet, said, "There is an active low pressure area over Thailand, which will travel westwards and reach near the Tamil Nadu coast by December 17. It will bring heavy rainfall from Tirupati and Nellore districts in Andhra Pradesh to Puducherry-Cuddalore coast, including Chennai. Some interior districts will also get good rains."
As per the weather forecast issued by the regional meteorological centre here, the next round of heavy rains will start on December 16 and will intensity. An orange alert has been issued for Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam and Karaikal area for December 17 and yellow alert over Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur districts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
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