Ennore remained the worst affected, recording 15 cm of rainfall by 6 pm on Wednesday and accumulating nearly 56 cm over the past three days.
Published Dec 04, 2025 | 10:15 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 04, 2025 | 10:15 AM
Water logging in Chennai following the rain.
Synopsis: The remnant of Cyclone Ditwah brought widespread rain over north Tamil Nadu for the third consecutive day, affecting several parts of Chennai and Tiruvallur districts. Weather officials noted that a trough extending from the remnant system over the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coast to the Lakshadweep region may lead to isolated heavy showers in parts of the state.
The remnant of Cyclone Ditwah brought widespread rain over north Tamil Nadu for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, 3 December, affecting several parts of Chennai and Tiruvallur districts. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) said the weakened system has been gradually moving inland and is expected to develop into a low-pressure area by Thursday.
With the circulation drifting southwest, the RMC issued a yellow alert for Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and four south coastal districts, including Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari, forecasting heavy rainfall on Thursday. Chennai is likely to see only light to moderate showers.
Ennore remained the worst affected, recording 15 cm of rainfall by 6 pm on Wednesday and accumulating nearly 56 cm over the past three days.
Several other parts of the city, including Puzhal (5 cm), Villivakkam (4 cm) and Tiruninravur (3 cm), received moderate to heavy showers, while south Chennai experienced comparatively lighter rain. Tiruchi, Ramanathapuram and other districts also reported rainfall throughout the day.
Weather officials noted that a trough extending from the remnant system over the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coast to the Lakshadweep region — passing through north interior Tamil Nadu, north Kerala and south interior Karnataka — sustained Wednesday’s rainfall and may lead to isolated heavy showers in parts of the state on Thursday.
The slowly moving system triggered rain along its path, though activity is expected to taper soon, said P Senthamarai Kannan, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre.
During the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Wednesday, Ennore and Hindustan University recorded 15 cm of rain each, followed by Chetpet in Tiruvannamalai district with 13 cm.
Many locations in Chennai and districts such as Pudukkottai and Villupuram also received moderate to heavy downpours. The consistent rainfall has helped reduce Chennai’s seasonal deficit to just two percent.
Meanwhile, the Red Hills reservoir shutters were opened for the sixth time this Northeast monsoon as water levels surged with steady inflow. Discharge of water was gradually increased to 2,500 cusecs by 5 pm on Wednesday after the locality registered 6.4 cm of rain.
With inflow reaching 5,000 cusecs and storage reaching 96 percent of capacity, the Water Resources Department widened the floodgates to maintain buffer space. Discharges from the Chembarambakkam and Poondi reservoirs continue at minimal levels.
Overall, the five major reservoirs together hold about 86 percent of their total storage, with controlled releases underway to avoid flooding downstream.
Chennai Metrowater processed 962.34 million litres of sewage on Wednesday, a significant increase from the 700 mld handled on non-rainy days, as the city’s systems responded to the persistent wet spell.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Veni EN.)
