Northeast monsoon brings widespread rainfall in Chennai

The northeast monsoon, which set in over Tamil Nadu, brought in the first spell of rains in Chennai today. 

Schools in the city closed an hour earlier than usual following government's order.

Traffic jams were reported on some major roads in the city including Velachery and OMR the IT Corridor. In the northern parts, several areas including Kilpauk and Koyambedu were affected.

A tree that fell in the Mambalam area blocked traffic close to the commercial hub of T Nagar.  

Coastal districts including Chennai, Cuddalore, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Ramanathapuram received heavy rainfalls while a few interior districts received heavy to very heavy rains. 

The northeast monsoon arrived over Tamil Nadu on October 27. Weather blogger Pradeep John has forecast above normal rainfall this northeast monsoon due to a favourable Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). Rainfall in the state would last until December first week, he said.