CHENNAI: The rare cyclone brewing over the Bay of Bengal may skip Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, and result in hotter days and humid nights due to the delayed entry of easterly winds.
Weathermen said temperatures may hover at a maximum of 36 deg C in the city and suburbs, while interior districts may record 40 deg C in the days ahead.
IMD said the low pressure areas over southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to gradually intensify into a cyclonic storm by March 21. It is then likely to move north-northeast wards and reach the Bangaladesh-north Myanmar coast around March 22.
IMD has forecast temperatures to be at 36 deg C and 24 deg C in the city and suburbs in the next 48 hours, while maximum temperatures could be two-three deg C above normal at isolated pockets of Tamil Nadu.
Meteorologists said the movement of the system over the Bay may set temperatures soaring in many parts of Tamil Nadu in the coming days. "There may not be any strong winds flowing from any direction till late afternoon. This may lead to a rise in day temperatures," an official said.
Mahesh Palawat, chief meteorologist, Skymet Weather said as the winds around the weather system move in anti-clockwise direction, it may push easterlies into the land that may arrive in the late afternoon. "This may lead to marginal rise in night temperatures," he said. According to the private forecaster, only six cyclones have formed over the Bay of Bengal since 1901 in the month of March.
Many districts saw a rise in temperatures with some inching closer to 40 deg C on Thursday. Erode 39.6 degC, Madurai 39.4 deg C, Salem 39 deg C, Coimbatore 38.2 deg C, and Namakkal 38.5 deg C, Trichy 38.7 deg C and Vellore and Dharmapuri registered 38 deg C. Nungamabakkam and Meenambakkam in the city recorded 34.9 deg C and 37.3 deg C, which was 1.7 deg C and 3.7 deg C above normal.
