Chennai gets partly cloudy skies and only very light rain on Thursday, with a low pressure area expected over the southeast Bay of Bengal around 13 November.
Nungambakkam has logged 608.3 mm of rain since 1 October.
That figure comes from the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) bulletin issued at 1.15 pm on 11 November, and it puts the city’s oldest observatory 158.1 mm above its normal for the season so far. The airport reads 511.0 mm, 53.5 mm above normal.
Neither station recorded rain in the 24 hours to 8.30 am on Wednesday, and the day before was warm for November, with Nungambakkam’s maximum at 31.9°C, 1.6 degrees above normal.
A low pressure area is expected on Friday
For Thursday, the city forecast issued at 2 pm on Wednesday reads partly cloudy with very light rain in some areas, a maximum of 31-32°C and a minimum of 24-25°C. Friday moves up a notch to light rain in some areas. The warnings column says NIL on all seven days, through 17 November.
The weather maker sits far to the east. An upper air cyclonic circulation over the South Andaman Sea, reaching 5.8 km above mean sea level, is expected to set off a low pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal around 13 November. RMC Chennai expects it to move northwestwards and become a well marked low pressure area within the following 24 hours. The bulletin gives no track beyond that. Chennai’s own forecast stays modest until the weekend, with light to moderate rain in some areas from 15 to 17 November, and the state bulletin lists moderate rain at isolated places over Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram and Ranipet on 16 and 17 November.
The delta and the south get Thursday’s rain
Moderate rain with thunderstorms is forecast at isolated places on Thursday over Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Karaikal. North coastal Tamil Nadu, the Western Ghats and Puducherry get light rain at isolated places. On Friday most of the state turns mainly dry. The only heavy rain warning in the 11 November bulletin was for Wednesday itself, over Ramanathapuram district.
Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district had the state’s highest 24-hour rainfall, 30.1 mm.
Chennai district is 8% short of normal
The district picture is different. IMD’s seasonal statement for 1 October to 11 November puts Chennai district at 389.0 mm against a normal of 424.8 mm, a departure of minus 8%, which IMD still classes as normal. Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram fall in the deficient band. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry together sit 2% above normal.
| Area | Actual (mm) | Normal (mm) | Departure | IMD category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai | 389.0 | 424.8 | -8% | Normal |
| Tiruvallur | 338.8 | 326.4 | +4% | Normal |
| Chengalpattu | 223.0 | 360.0 | -38% | Deficient |
| Kancheepuram | 225.7 | 300.1 | -25% | Deficient |
| Thanjavur | 143.9 | 279.0 | -48% | Deficient |
| Tirunelveli | 376.2 | 261.9 | +44% | Excess |
| Coimbatore | 359.1 | 233.2 | +54% | Excess |
| Puducherry | 261.7 | 430.1 | -39% | Deficient |
| Tamil Nadu and Puducherry | 259.1 | 254.2 | +2% | Normal |
Source: India Meteorological Department, seasonal rainfall statement for 1 October to 11 November 2026.
Thanjavur has the widest gap of the delta districts. Coimbatore and Tirunelveli are in excess.
How we worked this out
Station figures for Nungambakkam and the airport are taken from RMC Chennai’s daily weather report of 11 November 2026, which gives rainfall since 1 October with the departure from normal in brackets. District and state figures come from IMD’s seasonal rainfall statement for 1 October to 11 November, which averages rain gauges across each district, so Chennai district sits well below the single Nungambakkam reading. Categories are IMD’s own. Forecast wording is taken from the bulletins as issued.
RMC Chennai’s round-the-clock forecasting desk answers on 044-28271951 and 044-28246048.
Checked against official sources on 12 November 2026.
Sources
- Daily weather report for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, Regional Meteorological Centre Chennai, 11 November 2026
- Chennai city and neighbourhood 7-day forecast, RMC Chennai, issued 11 November 2026
- Seasonal rainfall statement, 1 October to 11 November 2026, India Meteorological Department
- Regional Meteorological Centre Chennai, forecasts, warnings and bulletins
