Downpour takes city by surprise

CHENNAI: Several parts of the city received heavy rain on Wednesday evening, the day supposed to mark the start of the south west monsoon in the country. Met officials, however, said the showers were routine thunderstorms and had little to do with the monsoon.People in several parts of the city were taken by surprise over the sudden downpour. It rained heavily for nearly 45 minutes. “We were not prepared for the rains and were caught in a terrible traffic bottleneck in T Nagar,” said Lavanya, a shopper who was stranded near Panagal Park. Most areas, including T Nagar, Royapettah, Chetpet, Choolaimedu, Ashok Nagar, Vadapalani, Saidapet, Kilpauk, Tambaram, Ambattur, and Alwarpet received heavy downpour between 4 pm and 7 pm. Though the city recorded a higher temperature (38.10C) on Wednesday than on Tuesday (37.10C), it was cloudy from the afternoon, and it later rained heavily.