Cyclones moving west-northwestwards yield good rain

As Tamil Nadu braces for Nivar that’s anticipated to cross its coast as a really extreme cyclonic storm, information over the previous twenty years present that most of the storms that moved west-northwestwards had yielded a good quantity of rain on the time of their landfall.

Senior meteorologist Y.E.A. Raj mentioned almost 13 programs crossed the Karaikal-Mamallapuram belt in November and December throughout the interval from 1971 to 2019. A cyclonic storm in 1994 originated in the identical location as Cyclone Nivar and yielded a good rainfall. Nivar might be a rain-filled storm, too, and is prone to cross south of Chennai, round Puducherry.

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There have been exceptions like Cyclone Nilam that made a landfall near Kalpakkam on the finish of October 2012, with a lesser depth and inflicting much less harm, Mr. Raj mentioned.

Meteorologists and climate bloggers draw a parallel between the present cyclone and Cyclone Nisha that crossed the coast near Nagapattinam, taking an analogous course. Nisha had shaped on November 25, 2008, and introduced heavy rain in some districts — Nagapattinam, 57 cm, and Cuddalore, 44 cm — till November 28.

Weather blogger R. Pradeep John, who runs the favored Tamil Nadu Weatherman weblog, mentioned slow-moving cyclones had given good rain prior to now. Cyclone Nisha had moved northwestwards, like the current system, and gave 40 cm of rain to Chennai. The metropolis has already acquired shut to twenty cm over the previous two days from Cyclone Nivar.

Though Cyclone Vardah (December 2016) that made a landfall near Chennai as a really extreme cyclonic storm is remembered for its intensive wind harm, it did carry good rain to some areas on the town outskirts and inside areas like Vellore, he mentioned.

The bloggers pointed to the opposite very extreme cyclonic storms that handed by the Tamil Nadu coast. K. Srikanth of the Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam climate weblog mentioned Cyclone Ockhi, which shaped on November 29, 2017, broken rubber plantations and banana crops in Kanniyakumari and left a number of fishermen lacking.

Similarly, very extreme cyclonic storm Gaja (November 2018), which had a devastating affect on the delta area, battered such inside areas as Tiruchi, Dindigul and Kodaikanal, he mentioned.

As Nivar drew nearer on Tuesday, a number of areas in and across the metropolis acquired regular rain. Nungambakkam acquired a heavy rainfall of almost 11 cm between 8.30 a.m. and seven p.m.

The Water Resources Department is intently monitoring the storage in metropolis’s 4 reservoirs.

The degree within the Chembarambakkam reservoir was at 21.38 toes, in opposition to the total degree of 24 toes, at 10 p.m. It had elevated by 0.06 toes from the extent recorded at 6 p.m. The lake acquired 729 cubic toes per second (cusecs) and the storage was at 2,955 million cubic toes (mcft) in opposition to its capability of three,645 mcft.

The different three main waterbodies nonetheless want almost 1,000 mcft every to replenish.

In Kancheepuram and Chengalpettu districts, of a complete of 909 tanks, almost 134 tanks, together with Sembakkam and Nanmangalam, have crammed up. A complete of 231 tanks touched 75% of their storage.