CHENNAI: Tropical cyclone Phethai, which is fast approaching land, may bring moderate rainfall to the city on Sunday and Monday with one or two heavy spells over some places. IMD said the cyclone is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in 24 hours and move north-northwestwards towards Andhra Pradesh to make landfall between Machilipatnam and Kakinada on Monday afternoon. Weather experts said Phethai is the seventh cyclonic storm formed in the Indian Ocean region this year.Chennai may get light rain in the next 24 hours while north coastal Tamil Nadu may get light to moderate rain or thundershowers. City temperatures may be a maximum of 32ºC and a minimum of 24ºC.IMD’s national bulletin said as of Saturday evening, the cyclonic storm was about 590km east-southeast of Chennai and 770km south-southeast of Machilipatnam. “North coastal Tamil Nadu may get moderate rainfall, as the outer bands of the weather system may touch the region, coming within 200km of Chennai before it moves towards Andhra coast,” said S Balachandran, DDG, IMD. “There may also be one or two spells of heavy rain on the north coast of the state.”On Saturday, the city was mostly cloudy and windy. In most parts of north Tamil Nadu, winds reached speeds of 45-55kmph.On Sunday, rain will accompany strong surface winds of about 75-85kmph gusting to 95kpmh as the system gathers strength. The official forecaster said wind speeds will pick up pace by Sunday evening hitting 90-100kmph, as Phethai may intensify into a severe cyclonic storm.This may continue to bring rainfall to north coastal Tamil Nadu including Chennai on Monday, when the cyclone is expected to make landfall about 500-600km away from the city on the Andhra coast.For Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, IMD has issued orange message.

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