Tropical Cyclone Vardah made landfall near Chennai and moved westward across southern India on Monday.  At 8:00 p.m. EST on Monday the center of Tropical Cyclone Vardah was located at latitude 13.1°N and longitude 77.9°E which put it about 60 miles (100 km) east of Bangalore, India.  Vardah was moving toward the west at 11 m.p.h. (17 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 30 m.p.h. (50 km/h) and there were gusts to 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1005 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Vardah was the equivalent of a hurricane when it made landfall and it brought strong winds and heavy rain to the area around Chennai, India.  Vardah weakened steadily after making landfall and most of the thunderstorms have weakened.  The spiral bands still contains scattered showers, but the winds have diminished.  The low level circulation is still well organized and there is a distinct center of low pressure at the surface.

A subtropical ridge to the north of Vardah continues to steer the tropical cyclone toward the west.  On its anticipated track Tropical Cyclone Vardah is expected to move over the Arabian Sea near Mangalore in about 24 hours.  Some numerical models are suggesting that Tropical Cyclone Vardah could reorganize after the center moves back over the water.