Thunderstorms trigger widespread downpour across Chennai and surrounding areas

For the second day in a row, intense thunderstorms triggered overnight downpours across several parts of Chennai and its neighbouring areas on Saturday (August 23, 2025). Heavy rain also drenched parts of northern and southern Tamil Nadu.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai, Sholinganallur and Parry’s recorded very heavy rainfall of 17 cm each during the 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday.

The automatic rain gauges in many places recorded significant rainfall, including in Madipakkam (15 cm), and Ennore, Korattur, Nerkundram, and Arcot in Ranipet district (14 cm each).

The downpour also boosted inflow into Chennai’s major reservoirs, with Cholavaram, Chembarambakkam, and Poondi registering 13 cm, 11 cm, and 10 cm of rainfall respectively. Red Hills reservoir received moderate rainfall of 5 cm during the same period.

The RMC has forecast light to moderate rain for Chennai, adjoining districts, Nagapattinam, and Ramanathapuram till Saturday afternoon. In its nowcast, the RMC has indicated areas of potential rainfall activity,which included the Gummidipoondi-Mamallapuram stretch, Thalaignayar-Vedaranyam belt in Nagapattinam, and the Pamban-Dhanushkodi stretch in Ramanathapuram.

Rainfall activity is expected to gradually shift to other parts of north Tamil Nadu and the delta region over the next few days. Officials cited the trough running from north interior Tamil Nadu to the Comorin area as one of the factors for the downpour since Friday.

In his social media post, weather blogger R. Pradeep John observed that such back-to-back heavy rainspell over Chennai and its fringes in August is a rare occurrence. Meanwhile, Greater Chennai Corporation personnel cleared uprooted trees, including one on Tank Bund Road in Teynampet zone.