The shores of Marina in Chennai experience high winds and heavy rainfall as Cyclone Montha nears the coast. The weather system is expected to make landfall on Tuesday
| Photo Credit: S.R. Raghunathan
Widespread, intense rainfall has been lashing many parts of Chennai and surrounding districts since Monday (October 27, 2025) night as severe cyclonic storm Montha moved closer to the coast.
The storm, however, has slowed down slightly, moving at a speed of 10 kmph compared to its earlier pace of 15 kmph, and lies over westcentral Bay of Bengal, about 110 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam, 190 km south-southeast of Kakinada, and 280 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Read live updates on Cyclone Montha here.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, has predicted that the weather system, which will move north-northwestwards, is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada on Tuesday (October 28) evening or night, with a maximum wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting up to 110 kmph.
Heavy rains in Chennai as a result of Cyclone Montha on Tuesday
| Photo Credit:
M. Srinath
An orange alert has been issued for Tiruvallur district for 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday (October 29). Eight more districts, including Kancheepuram and Ranipet, are likely to receive heavy rainfall until the severe cyclonic storm makes landfall.
During the past 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, several places in extreme north Tamil Nadu received intense downpour. Ennore in Chennai recorded the heaviest rainfall of 13 cm, followed by Virinjipuram in Vellore (11 cm). While Chennai and its neighbouring districts recorded widespread, moderate to heavy rainfall, other districts like the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Villupuram, and Thoothukudi also received light rainfall.
RMC forecast
Tamil Nadu’s north coastal and adjoining districts may experience strong surface winds with speeds reaching up to 55 kmph under the influence of Cyclone Montha, according to the RMC.
With another depression remaining practically stationary over Arabian Sea, districts like Theni, Tenkasi, Kanniyakumari, and the Ghat areas of Coimbatore may receive heavy rains till Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, Chennai is likely to experience moderate to heavy rainfall in some areas and a pleasant, winter-like weather, as the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 25 degree Celsius. Rainfall over Tamil Nadu may reduce gradually from Wednesday, once the cyclone makes its landfall.
Water levels rise
Meanwhile, the city reservoirs, including Red Hills and Chembarambakkam, received light rainfall of 1-2 cm between 8.30 a.m. and noon. The Water Resources Department (WRD) will open the floodgates of the Red Hills reservoir wider to discharge 1,000 cusecs of water around 2 p.m. on Tuesday to manage the rise in the inflow.
Officials of the WRD noted that the minor irrigation tanks located upstream of the reservoir are nearly 95% full and the reservoir received an inflow of 556 cusecs. Water discharge is also being maintained in other two key reservoirs: Poondi and Chembarambakkam.
On Tuesday, Chennai’s six drinking water sources, including Veeranam tank in Cuddalore district, had a total storage of 10.18 thousand million cubic feet against their capacity of 13.22 tmcft. The waterbodies had a combined storage of 6.14 tmcft on the same day last year.
A total of 711 sewer cleaning vehicles, including those hired from other districts, are in operation to clear sewer blocks, according to Chennai Metrowater.
Published – October 28, 2025 12:19 pm IST
