Chennai receives heavy rain, Met dept says condition favourable for onset of northeast monsoon

Vehicular traffic was affected in several parts of Chennai after heavy rain lashed the city and its suburbs on Friday afternoon even as the meteorological department maintained that it would take two more days for the onset of the northeast monsoon.

The sudden downpour in the city that began after 12:30pm was continuing even after 5:30pm. Water logging was witnessed in several areas of the city and vehicles moved at snail's pace.

Chennai has been receiving mild showers in the last two days while it rained heavily in the southern districts.

"The conditions are getting favourable for the northeast monsoon to set in, and we expect it to set in the next two days. We will declare the onset of the monsoon in the next 48 hours," said S Thampi, deputy director general of India Meteorological Department.