Schools in Chennai, four other Tamil Nadu districts declare holiday amid heavy rainfall

Schools in Chennai and four other districts of Tamil Nadu were declared closed on Wednesday amid heavy downpour, with rain alerts being declared in several areas.Showers continued to lash parts of the state through Tuesday night and continued on Wednesday morning, with parts of Chennai, including Bazullah Road, Usman Nagar and T Nagar witnessing waterlogging, according to visuals posted by news agency PTI.

The one-day holiday in schools was declared for Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram, and Ranipet, multiple news outlets reported on Tuesday.Yellow, orange alerts issued in Tamil NaduAccording to the India Meteorological Department, a yellow alert was issued for most districts in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, including Vellore, Namakkal, Erode, Kanyakumari and Thirunelveli.

A yellow alert signals moderate rain along with thunderstorms and lightning. Meanwhile, some parts, including Thiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Thanjavur and Cuddalore, were under orange alerts. An orange alert signals very heavy rain, along with thunderstorms, lightning and squall.Also Read | Rain lashes Chennai as northeast monsoon gets active in Tamil Nadu; roads flooded, traffic snarls | VisualsThe weather department had, on Tuesday, forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over Tamil Nadu for 24 hours owing to the likely formation of a low pressure area over the southwest Bay of Bengal.Tamil Nadu and Puducherry normally receive heavy rainfall during the northeast monsoon season, which officially sets in between October and December every year.Heavy downpour in Tamil Nadu likely to continue till October 24Heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu began over the weekend itself, with the downpour lashing several districts.

The IMD said on Sunday that heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely across the state till October 24.According to the regional meteorological centre (RMC), six locations in Chennai, including Parrys recorded the highest amount of 36.3 cm of rainfall on Sunday, while twelves other locations in the city received heavy to very heavy rainfall exceeding 11.5 cm as the northeast monsoon remained active in the region.According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), fairly widespread to widespread rainfall is likely over the state,along with other south Indian states, including Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, till October 24.Also Read | Delhi wakes up to first ‘poor’ air reading of the season, AQI at 227Low pressure area likely to form on WednesdayMeanwhile, a low pressure area is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, with the IMD predicting heavy rains in several districts including the state capital.According to the least bulletin released by the weather department on Tuesday afternoon, an upper air cyclonic circulation that lay over the southwest Bay of Bengal off north Tamil Nadu coast on Monday is likely to intensify into a low pressure area over the same region during next 24 hours.