Parts of coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will begin to get widespread rainfall from Thursday as Cyclone Gaja comes closer to the Tamil Nadu coast.

Weather bloggers also note that Chennai will experience intermittent spells of moderate rainfall from Thursday. R.Pradeep John, who runs the blog, Tamil Nadu Weatherman, said there is a possibility of rain of upto 15 cm spread over three days in Chennai. Areas falling in the path of the cyclone that will move to the Arabian Sea will also see rain. Interior parts such as Kodaikanal and Dindigul would also have rainfall on Friday and Saturday.

Highlighting similar cyclones that crossed delta region, Mr. John said there were five such cyclones that crossed delta region in the past 25 years that brought in heavy rainfall. This system is a fast moving one compared to the earlier systems and can bring extremely heavy rains in one or two places of delta region. The recent cyclones — one in 2000 and the other in 2008 -- that brought extremely heavy rainfall in a single day.