CHENNAI: Nearly a month after Cyclone Gaja made landfall near Vedaranyam, another storm is brewing over Bay of Bengal and may bring heavy rain to north coastal Tamil Nadu including Chennai this weekend. The system which is now a deep depression, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, is likely to intensify into a tropical cyclone by Friday and move in a northwesterly direction towards Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu. Once formed, it would be called Phethai, a northern Indian Ocean tropical cyclone name contributed by Thailand.IMD’s regional weather inference said the depression was about 1,150km southeast of Chennai and 1,350km south-southeast of Machilipatnam. “It is very likely to intensify further into a deep depression during the next 12 hours and into a cyclonic storm during the subsequent 24 hours. It is very likely to move towards Andhra Pradesh and adjoining north Tamil Nadu coast during next 72 hours,” it said.This may bring heavy to very heavy rain in isolated places over north coastal Tamil Nadu from December 15, IMD said.Mahesh Palawat, chief meteorologist of independent weather forecasting agency Skymet, said the system may intensify into a storm when it nears the coast. If it happens, it would be seventh cyclone this season in the Indian Ocean region. “There will be rain from Saturday and it would gradually pick up pace. After a heavy spell on December 16, its intensity will decrease. Northern parts of Tamil Nadu and Chennai can expect heavy rainfall,” he said.Weather blogger Pradeep John recalled the time in 2010 when the intense spell in Chennai lasted only a day as Cyclone Laila made landfall near Machilipatnam. “Though rain may pound Chennai if the cyclone makes landfall near Nellore or Kavali in South Andhra Pradesh, as predicted earlier, the present one is also expected to come close to Chennai and then move up. So, there will be one day of intense rain in the city,” he said.As of now, the sky over the city is likely to be generally cloudy for the next 24 hours with the maximum and minimum temperatures around 31 deg C and 23 deg C.

Stay updated with all the Chennai Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.