Cyclone Murasu: Chennai schools shut Nov 2, no holiday declared yet for Nov 3

There is no confirmed school holiday tomorrow in Chennai for November 3 as of yet — no district authority has announced one — while all schools in Chennai and neighbouring Tiruvallur stayed shut on Monday, November 2, after the approaching cyclone prompted precautionary closures by district administrations.

The Chennai district collector declared a holiday for all schools in the city on Monday, as Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu moved closer to the coast of Andhra Pradesh. Schools and colleges in Tiruvallur were closed on the same day, and institutions in the neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram also stayed shut amid heavy rain warnings. The closures follow a stretch of heavy rain that had already forced Chennai schools and colleges to remain shut over the weekend, reported News9Live.

Will Chennai see a school holiday tomorrow, November 3?

That is the question parents are now asking after three consecutive days of disruption. The short answer, based on the latest updates: no holiday has been announced for November 3 so far. With Chennai under a heavy rain forecast right through, the state government and district collectors are the bodies that will issue any such order, and none has come by Monday evening.

State-wise updates for November 3 tell a clear story. In Andhra Pradesh, district administrations have suspended classes and closed schools across multiple districts, with a red alert up over several of them. In Tamil Nadu, the closures on November 2 covered Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram — all coastal or near-coast districts in the storm’s likely track. Elsewhere in the country there is no disruption: schools in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad should run as usual unless local authorities or individual schools decide otherwise.

Where exactly Murasu is heading

The India Meteorological Department said Murasu is moving west-northwestward over the Bay of Bengal and is expected to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapuram around midnight on November 2. Chennai lies on the storm’s western flank, which is why the city is bracing for heavy rain even though the landfall point is some 400 km to the north.

The expected rainfall in the city is substantial. Chennai may receive over 100 mm of rain, with the heaviest concentration in North Chennai and Gummidipoondi, which could see up to 150 mm, according to forecasts cited in reports. The Week reported that rains will lash Chennai till November 4 — which means even if schools reopen November 4, the disruption window is longer than the holiday itself.

This is the second severe cyclonic storm to hit the region in quick succession. The IMD had earlier tracked Cyclone Arnab, which kept the coast under severe weather for a week, before Murasu formed and was classified as another severe cyclonic storm. Education Times listed the Odisha connection as well: schools there were part of the holiday advisories issued for November 2 alongside Chennai and Tiruvallur.

Who declared what, and who is on alert

The Tamil Nadu government announced the closure of schools and colleges in Chennai and Tiruvallur on November 2 ahead of the storm’s heavy rainfall, The Hindu reported. In Andhra Pradesh, the district administrations moving into the landfall corridor — the south AP coast between Nellore and Narsapuram — have suspended classes, with the IMD’s red alerts covering those districts. Several districts in northern Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, are under orange alert.

The alert hierarchy matters for families making decisions. A red alert in the IMD’s system signals the most severe expected conditions; an orange alert signals heavy to very heavy rain and the real possibility of localised flooding. Chennai falls in the second band. For schools in the closed districts, the practical effect is the same either way: no classes while the alert runs, and a wait for the official reopening notice.

What parents should check before sending children to school

For a school holiday tomorrow in Chennai, the official word will come from the state government or the district administration — not from school-level circulars alone. Until then, the safest course is to treat November 3 as a possible school day and wait for the collector’s order. The date to watch is Tuesday, November 4: that is when the IMD says the rain is expected to ease across the city, and the day schools in the closed districts are most likely to reopen with a normal schedule.

The Times of India had reported the closure of Chennai and Tiruvallur schools on the day itself, and the Education Times had tracked the state-wise closure list as the storm approached — both indicating that any extension beyond November 2 would be announced by the authorities as the situation develops. With landfall expected around midnight on November 2 and over 100 mm of rain forecast for the city before Thursday morning, an early-evening order on Tuesday morning remains a live possibility.