Chennai rains: Started with a banger, ended in a whimper: Story of 2024 northeast monsoon’s first depression

CHENNAI: The low pressure-turned-depression over the Bay of Bengal, which triggered torrential rainfall in Chennai on Monday and was once threatening to bring in extremely heavy rain in the days after that, weakened to a well-marked low pressure and crossed the coast around 4.30 am on October 17. In sharp contrast to how it began and the threat it posed to Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu, there was not a drop of rain when it crossed the northern coast near Chennai, between Nellore and Puducherry.

“It is likely to continue to move west-northwestwards and weaken further into a low pressure area during next 12 hours,” said the 7 am bulletin from the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai. Since facing the fury of the depression on Monday, the day which also marked the beginning of northeast monsoon, it has not rained in Chennai..