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The deep depression over the South-East Bay of Bengal seemed to have stopped on its tracks mid-seas, about 930 km east to south-east of Chennai, and 1,090 km south-east of Machilipatnam (in Andhra Pradesh), on Friday evening.
But this will be a brief pause, before it intensifies into a cyclone (to be named ‘Phethai’ from the Thai language) by Saturday, and into a severe cyclonic on Sunday, which will head for the Andhra Pradesh coast.
Away from Chennai
The Indian Met Department (IMD) said that the severe cyclone would move towards the north-northwest, further away from Chennai, and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Ongole and Kakinada on Monday afternoon.
The 24 hours ending on Friday morning saw reports of isolated rain from Telangana, North-Interior Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, even as the system brewed over the outer Bay waters.
In its extended forecast for the next two weeks, the IMD predicts normal to above normal rainfall for the South Peninsula, from December 13 to 19, and normal rainfall during the following week (December 20-26).
In the short-term, however, heavy rain is expected at isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh, and north Coastal Tamil Nadu from Saturday. On Sunday, heavy to very heavy rain may lash a few places over coastal Andhra Pradesh, with isolated extremely heavy to isolated heavy over some regions of Tamil Nadu.
Rainfall outlook
As for Monday, heavy to very heavy rainfall is possible at a few places over coastal Andhra Pradesh, with isolated extremely heavy fall at some places.
Isolated heavy fall over Chhattisgarh and Odisha is also expected.
This indicates the movement of a remnant of the cyclone along a north-east direction, after landfall over the Andhra Pradesh coast, bringing rain over parts of the east coast of India and its immediate interior.
Squally winds escalating to gale wind speeds have been forecast over many parts of the Bay, as well as along the coastal Andhra Pradesh, north coastal Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry during the next three days.
The sea condition could range from ‘very rough’ to ‘high’ (wave heights 20-30 ft).
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into these areas.
The brewing cyclone will be the seventh such one this year, starting with ‘Sagar’, ‘Mekunu’ and ‘Luban’ — all in the Arabian Sea — and ‘Daye,’ ‘Titli,’ and ‘Gaja’ in the Bay.
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