Not a tornado, says Met department as Tamil Nadu storm in Thoothukudi fuels buzz

The meteorological department said it was not a tornado and reported adverse weather due to presence of an east-west trough across south Tamil Nadu.

Thunderstorms with “strong updrafts” were reported over Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district on Sunday even as the Met department denied the occurrence of a tornado over the district amid widely circulated claims online of the appearance of the weather phenomenon.

A video of the weather phenomenon was widely circulated on social media. (PTI)

A video of the weather phenomenon was widely circulated on social media.

Thoothukudi is about 650 km from Chennai.

Sharing the video, private weatherman Navdeep Dahiya said on X, “Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu reported Tornado today. A very rare sight from Tamil Nadu. Could be the first one from the state?”

Tamil Nadu-based weather forecaster Pradeep John said, “Rare Tornado in Thoothukudi. This is rarest of the rarest”.

However, the regional meteorological department said it was not a tornado and reported adverse weather due to presence of an east-west trough extending around 3.1 km above sea level across south Tamil Nadu.

Director of regional weather forecasting centre, Chennai, VR Durai said: “The associated convective activity generated localised strong winds, dust lifting, and ‘vigorous updrafts’ near Thoothukudi airport area.”

“The observed funnel-like feature was most likely associated with the strong updraft beneath a cumulonimbus cloud, which lifted dust and created a rotating or vertically stretched column of air,” he said, adding it was more likely a “localised convective vortex, dust whirl, or transient funnel cloud.”