Dark clouds loomed over the horizon on Friday, but it did not translate into rains for the city, puzzling residents.
The northeast monsoon is unpredictable, an official of the meteorological department said.The city has received less than 10 per cent of the average rainfall of 40 cm for this month — the period when the city receives the most rains in a year.
However, this deficit could be bridged if the city received a heavy spell of rainfall over a short period of three to four days, the official said. The department forecast one or two spells of rain or thundershowers in some areas over the weekend.
However, the trough over Bay of Bengal resulted in rains in many places in the neighbouring districts of Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram.
There was waterlogging in several areas in and around Chengalpattu following overnight showers.
Explaining the phenomenon, the official said, sometimes cloud cover did not result in rainfall over the entire area. There was still hope of light rains over Chennai in the next three , he said.
The weather models indicated an improvement in rainfall in the State, particularly in the southern parts, till November 27 after which dry weather would prevail for four days, the official said.
As far as Chennai was concerned, the rainfall since October 1 fell short by 16 cm of the average for this season, he said. On Friday, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam recorded maximum temperatures of 28.1 degrees Celsius and 28.4 degrees Celsius respectively, one degree below the average.
