In the midst of witnessing sproadic rainfall for a past few days that had triggered huge disruption in the city, Chennai is bracing up for a cyclone that will make a landfall over the northern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and southern coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh during the first week of December. While several predictions about the cyclone have become the talk of the town, they have been keeping the weather bloggers in divide as some of them foresee light rainfall in the city during the landfall. 

It's typical that Chennai and other northern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu would receive cyclonic storms every year, the upcoming cyclone has been named 'Michaung' and the system was formed over the south Andaman Sea. It has been reported that the brewing system over the Bay of Bengal would intensify into a depression and would eventually become a cyclone by December 2. 

Besides Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the state of Odisha has also been on a high alert. As far as the landfall in Chennai is concerned, the weather bloggers predict that the city would escape from Cyclone Michaung's intensity as they say that Chennai would receive only light rainfall. While the meteorologists of the IMD (India Meteorological Department) are waiting for the cyclone to get intensify to forecast the landfall area, the bloggers predict that the cyclone could possibly skip Chennai, leaving a light shower. 

According to a weather watcher, the brewing system would intensify into a depression over the South Bay of Bengal by Wednesday - November 29 and will turn into a deep depression during the subsequent 24 hours and a cyclonic storm in the following 48 hours, around December 1 or 2. After its formation as a cyclone, Michaung would make a landfall with wind speed of 60-70 kmph, gusting to 80 kmph. 

As the movement is closely watched, the early predictions have hinted that the cyclone would make a landfall between the shores of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, skipping Tamil Nadu completely, while showering a light downpour. The early predictions are apparently keeping the weather watchers in a friction, nevertheless, the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha are taking precautionary measures to tackle the storm and have advised the fishermen not to venture into the sea for the next few days. 

IMD's global forecasting system has exhibited that the low-pressure area that has been moving towards the coast of Tamil Nadu will get strengthened into a cyclonic storm and will move north-northwestwards until December 4, crossing the northern Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha coasts by December 5 as a very severe cyclonic storm. 

In the wake of the cyclonic storm, the IMD has issued 'yellow alert' for Tamil Nadu, with a heavy rain warning for eleven districts including Chennai, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpet until December 1. Times Of India has quoted Senthamarai Kannan, the director of IMD's regional weather forecasting centre in Chennai, saying that the path and area of the landfall could be forecast only after the system intensifies into a depression. 

He said, "There is a lot of variations in the models. Originally, it forecast Odisha coast, then south Andhra Pradesh coast for landfall. We still have five to six days for the cyclone to near the coast. We may have rain between December 2 and 5 in Chennai and surrounding areas irrespective of landfall area." It has been predicted that for the next 48 hours, Chennai and the outskirts would receive light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning over some areas.