In a respite from the heat, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has predicted thunderstorm and mild to moderate rainfall for Chennai and 12 other districts of Tamil Nadu on Saturday.

According to a report, N Puviarasan, Director, RMC said thunderstorm activity with mild to moderate rainfall will be experienced in the districts including Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Tiruvarur, Vellore, Nagapattinam, Salem, Thanjavur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Karaikal, Kanyakumari and Tirunelvi in the next 24 hours.

The RMD also predicted light to moderate rainfall for Chennai till Tuesday. The capital of Tamil Nadu is also likely to see cloudy skies on Saturday.

On Friday, a few parts of the Nilgiris received moderate rainfall and Devala area received 3 cm rainfall. Many parts of Kanyakumari and Coimbatore district also received 2 cm rainfall. Nagercoil, Valparai, Solaiyur recorded 2 cm of rain.

A few parts of Tirupattur, Dharmapuri and Dindigul district received one cm rainfall. The areas of Kanyakumari district including Kuzhithurai and Colachel received one cm rainfall.

In a Facebook post, weatherman Pradeep John said the first full-fledged monsoon rains are going to begin in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. South Kerala and Kanyakumari are likely to get heavy rainfall on Saturday.

Along with Kanyakumari, the interiors of Salem and Dindigul are also likely to witness thunderstorms.

The reason for cloud activity is the low pressure formation in Bay of Bengal next week. As a result of this, the monsoon winds are activating  the clouds in the Arabian sea, he said. The cloud action is likely to increase the water level of dams in the districts of Tamil Nadu.

Pradeep added, “One widespread thunderstorm action always happens before formation of next low in Bay of Bengal and this weekend we have a chance for rains before the low forms in Bay of Bengal.”