Chennai: The strengthening low-level jet (Somali Jet), which has revived the southwest monsoon along the west coast, brought cloudy skies and isolated rain spells to the city and its suburbs on Monday, providing relief from the recent spell of heat. Weather models indicate rain activity, mainly during the evening and late-night hours, until Saturday. IMD has forecast light rainfall in the city and suburbs on Tuesday. Meteorologists said day temperatures will likely remain close to normal for the rest of the month.Meteorologists said the low-level jet, a narrow, fast-moving band of winds in the lower atmosphere over the Arabian Sea, is transporting moisture-laden air inland, reviving the southwest monsoon along the west coast after a brief lull. some of which reaches the leeward side of the Western Ghats and, when combined with local heating and atmospheric disturbances such as a trough or cyclonic circulation, can trigger clouds and thunderstorms over Chennai and neighbouring districts.“We can expect cloudy weather to continue on Tuesday as well, though not as overcast as it was on Monday. Daytime temperatures may be 1-2°C higher than Monday, but the chances of them touching 39-40°C, as they did last week, are low,” said V R Durai, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, IMD. “We can expect light rain spells in the city and suburbs this week, except around July 23, when there may be light to moderate rainfall,” he added. Durai said a trough extending from north Odisha to West Bengal, which is influencing the wind pattern over Tamil Nadu, is contributing to the cloudy weather and rainfall over the city and its suburbs.On Tuesday, the city and its suburbs are likely to receive light rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning during the evening and night. The sky is expected to remain partly cloudy, with the maximum temperature likely to be around 37°C and the minimum around 26°C. Till 5.30pm, Nungambakkam recorded traces. Earlier in the day, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam observatories recorded 35.8°C and 36.6°C, around 0.3°C and 1°C above normal.Since June 1, Chennai has logged 77.5mm of rainfall, 39% below normal, Chengalpet 30.7mm (72% below normal), Tiruvallur 97.8mm (30% below normal) and Kancheepuram 65.9mm (49% below normal). On Monday, parts of south Chennai received light rain spells.
