Chennai: The much-awaited northeast monsoon commenced over Tamil Nadu today, the Indian Meteorological Department announced.

The northeast monsoon began with the setting in of moisture-rich easterly winds that brought rainfall. The state received scattered rainfall, and weathermen said that the setting in of the northeast monsoon was weaker in intensity than usual.

In the last 24 hours, Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district received the highest rainfall of 7cm. Some places in Cuddalore, Tiruvarur and Perambalur districts recorded 6cm rainfall each, while Musiri in Trichy district received 5cm rainfall.

The DGP office on the Kamarajar Salai in Chennai recorded 4cm rainfall.

The sky will be cloudy across the state over the next two days with the possibility of light to moderate showers, the Met office has forecast. One or two parts of the state are expected to get heavy rainfall in the next two days.

While the current spell is likely to last only till Tuesday, weather models suggest the forming of another system over the Bay of Bengal.