India Meteorological Department (IMD) has delayed the landfall of cyclone Fengal over the south-west Bay of Bengal from this afternoon to later in the evening. The cyclone paused over the waters and oriented itself towards the Chennai-Puducherry coast at 5:30 a.m. in the morning.

It was not known until 9.30 a.m. whether this would lead to recalibrating the strength or intensity of the incoming cyclone or a change in the place of projected landfall.

The IMD said in an update at 8.40 a.m. that the cyclone is likely to move nearly westwards and cross the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram close to Puducherry as a cyclone wind speeds of 70-80 km/hr gusting to 90 km/hr by the evening.

Fengal was positioned closer to Chennai than other places, such as Puducherry to the immediate south, around where it is expected to make landfall in the evening, or Nagapattinam further to the south on the Tamil Nadu coast. Trincomalee in Sri Lanka, where the system had stalled initially as a depression a couple of days ago, has been left farther behind already.

Lording it over the south-west Bay of Bengal waters off Tamil Nadu, Fengal has picked up in speed in lateral movement compared to early in the morning and lay centered about 150 km east of Puducherry, 140 km south-east of Chennai, 210 km north-east of Nagappattinam; and 400 km north of Trincomalee at 8.40 am.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts suggested the south Andhra Pradesh-north Tamil Nadu coast extending from Sullurpeta to Chennai to Maduranthakam could witness the heaviest rainfall during a 12-hour period ending 9.30 pm this night, expected to continue until after the system’s landfall.

Published on November 30, 2024