Tag Archives: Chennai

Tropical Cyclone Mandous Strengthens over Southwest Bay of Bengal

Tropical Cyclone Mandous strengthened over the southwestern Bay of Bengal on Thursday. At 4:00 p.m. EST on Thursday the center of Tropical Cyclone Mandous was located at latitude 10.7°N and longitude 81.9°E which put it about 215 miles (345 km) southeast of Chennai, India. Mandous was moving toward the west-northwest at 9 m.p.h. (15 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 988 mb.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone Mandous strengthened on Thursday. Even though Mandous was stronger, the distribution of thunderstorms continued to be asymmetrical. Many of the thunderstorms were occurring in bands in the western half of Mandous’ circulation. Bands in the eastern half of Mandous consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. Storms west of the center of Mandous generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the west of the tropical cyclone. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 150 miles (240 km) from the center of Tropical Cyclone Mandous.

Tropical Cyclone Mandous will move through an environment that will become unfavorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Mandous will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28˚C. It will move under the southwestern part of an upper level ridge over Southeast Asia and the Bay of Bengal. The ridge will produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Mandous’ circulation. Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear. The wind shear is already contributing to the asymmetrical distribution of thunderstorms and the shear will inhibit intensification. The western side Tropical Cyclone Mandous will interact with a mass of drier air over India, when Mandous gets closer to the coast of India. A combination of moderate vertical wind shear and drier air is likely to cause Mandous to begin to weaken during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Mandous will move around the southern side of a high pressure system over southern Asia. The high pressure system will steer Mandous toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Mandous will be near the coast of southern India near Chennai in 24 hours. Mandous will bring gusty winds and locally heavy rain to Puducherry, northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh. Tropical Cyclone Mandous will also drop heavy rain over northern Sri Lanka. Heavy rain could cause flash floods in some locations.

Tropical Cyclone Mandous Forms over Southwest Bay of Bengal

Tropical Cyclone Mandous formed over the southwestern Bay of Bengal east of Sri Lanka on Wednesday afternoon. At 10:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Tropical Cyclone Mandous was located at latitude 9.6°N and longitude 83.8°E which put it about 360 miles (580 km) southeast of Chennai, India. Mandous was moving toward the west-northwest at 6 m.p.h. (10 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 997 mb.

The circulation around a low pressure system over the southwestern Bay of Bengal strengthened on Wednesday afternoon and the India Meteorological Department designated the system as Tropical Cyclone Mandous. The distribution of thunderstorms around Tropical Cyclone Mandous was asymmetrical. Many of the thunderstorms were occurring in bands in the western half of Mandous’ circulation. Bands in the eastern half of Mandous consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. Storms west of the center of Mandous generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the west of the tropical cyclone. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 85 miles (135 km) from the center of Tropical Cyclone Mandous.

Tropical Cyclone Mandous will move through an environment somewhat favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Mandous will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28˚C. It will move under the southwestern part of an upper level ridge over Southeast Asia and the Bay of Bengal. The ridge will produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Mandous’ circulation. Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear. The wind shear is contributing to the asymmetrical distribution of thunderstorms and the shear will inhibit intensification. The vertical wind shear may not be strong enough to prevent intensification during the next 24 hours and Tropical Cyclone Mandous could strengthen during that time period.

Tropical Cyclone Mandous will move around the southern side of a high pressure system over southern Asia. The high pressure system will steer Mandous toward the northwest during the next 48 hours. On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Mandous could be near the coast of southern India near Chennai in 48 hours. Mandous could bring gusty winds and locally heavy rain to Puducherry, northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh. Heavy rain could cause flash floods in some locations.

Tropical Cyclone 01B Weakens over Bay of Bengal

Tropical Cyclone 01B weakened over the Bay of Bengal on Saturday. At 4:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of Tropical Cyclone 01B was located at latitude 11.2°N and longitude 82.8°E which put it about 160 miles (260 km) east-southeast of Chennai India. It was moving toward the west at 4 m.p.h (6 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 35 m.p.h. (55 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 1003 mb.

Tropical Cyclone 01B weakened over the southwest Bay of Bengal on Saturday. The inflow around the western side of the tropical cyclone pulled drier air that was over India into Tropical Cyclone 01B. The drier air circulated around the tropical cyclone and it caused many of the thunderstorms to dissipate. A few thunderstorms persisted in a band northeast of the center of circulation. The other bands consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. The dissipation of thunderstorms resulted in a circulation that was present only in the lower atmosphere.

Tropical Cyclone 01B will move through an environment unfavorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. The tropical cyclone will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28˚C. However the drier air will continue to inhibit the formation of new thunderstorms. The tropical cyclone will move under the western part of an upper level ridge centered over southeast Asia. The ridge will produce southeast winds that will blow toward the top of the depression. Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear and the shear will also inhibit intensification. Tropical Cyclone 01B is likely to continue to weaken as the circulation spins down. It could bring rain showers to southern India early next week.

Depression Forms over Bay of Bengal

A depression formed over the Bay of Bengal on Friday morning. At 10:00 a.m. EST on Friday the center of the depression was located at latitude 9.4°N and longitude 83.4°E which put it about 320 miles (515 km) southeast of Chennai India. It was moving toward the north-northwest at 7 m.p.h (11 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 35 m.p.h. (55 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 1000 mb.

The circulation around a low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal strengthened on Friday morning and the system was classified as a depression by the India Meteorological Department. More thunderstorms develop near the enter of the depression. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of circulation. Storms near the center generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the north of the depression.

The depression will move through an environment somewhat favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. The depression will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28˚C. It will move under the western part of an upper level ridge centered over southeast Asia. The ridge will produce southeast winds that will blow toward the top of the depression. Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear and the shear will inhibit intensification. The depression is likely to intensify during the next 24 hours unless the upper level winds get stronger.

The depression will move south of a high pressure system centered over southeast Asia. The high pressure system will steer the depression slowly toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track the depression will remain northeast of Sri Lanka and it will move closer to southern India.

Tropical Cyclone 04B Brings Rain to Southern India

Tropical Cyclone 04B brought rain to parts of southern India on Thursday. At 4:00 a.m. EST on Thursday the center of Tropical Cyclone 04B was located at latitude 13.1°N and longitude 80.6°W which put it about 30 miles (50 km) east of Chennai, India. The tropical cyclone was moving toward the west-northwest at 9 m.p.h. (14 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 1003 mb.

A low pressure system over the western Bay of Bengal strengthened on Thursday morning and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center designated the system as Tropical Cyclone 04B. The India Meteorological Department classified the system as a depression. The center of Tropical Cyclone 04B was located near Chennai, India. The strongest thunderstorms were occurring in bands west of the center of circulation and along the northern periphery of the tropical cyclone. Bands in other parts of the circulation consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 40 miles (65 km/h) from the center of the tropical cyclone.

The center of Tropical Cyclone 04B will make landfall on the southern coast of India near Chennai in a few hours. The tropical cyclone will bring gusty winds to the northern coast of Tamil Nadu and the southern coast of Andhra Pradesh. Tropical Cyclone 04B will drop locally heavy rain over parts or northern Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh and southern Karnataka as it moves inland. The tropical cyclone will weaken gradually after it moves inland over southern India.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar Moves along Andhra Pradesh Coast

Tropical Cyclone Nivar moved northward along the coast of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. At 10:00 p.m. EST on Thursday the center of Tropical Cyclone Nivar was located at latitude 14.0°N and longitude 80.7°E which put it about 50 miles (80 km) south-southeast of Nellore, India. Nivar was moving toward the north at 7 m.p.h. (11 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 35 m.p.h. (55 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 1003 mb.

After making landfall on the southeast coast of India near Puducherry on Wednesday, vertical wind shear blew the upper portion of Tropical Cyclone Nivar west of the surface circulation. An upper level ridge over India produced easterly winds which blew toward the top of Tropical Cyclone Nivar. Those winds caused strong vertical wind shear. The shear was strong enough to blow the upper part of Nivar west of the surface circulation. The upper part of the circulation moved westward across southern India and weakened. The surface circulation moved northward along the southeast coast of India and back over the Bay of Bengal north of Chennai.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar will move through an environment that will be only slightly favorable for intensification during the next few hours. Nivar will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 29°C, while it is over the Bay of Bengal. However, the upper level ridge will continue to cause strong vertical wind shear. The shear is likely to prevent Tropical Cyclone Nivar from strengthening.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar will continue to move north along the southeast coast of India for the next few hours. After that time a high pressure system over northern India will turn Nivar toward the west. On its anticipated track Tropical Cyclone Nivar is forecast to move inland over southern Andhra Pradesh and to move toward Karnataka. Nivar will weaken after the low level circulation moves inland, but it will drop locally heavy rain over southern Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Flash floods could occur in some locations.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar Makes Landfall in Tamil Nadu

Tropical Cyclone Nivar made landfall on the coast of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. At 4:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Tropical Cyclone Nivar was located at latitude 12.2°N and longitude 79.8°E which put it about 25 miles (40 km) north of Puducherry, India. Nivar was moving toward the west-northwest at 12 m.p.h. (19 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 100 m.p.h. (160 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 976 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar made landfall on the southeast coast of India north of Puducherry on Wednesday. Nivar strengthened into the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon over the Bay of Bengal before it made landfall. Winds to hurricane/typhoon force extended out 35 miles (55 km/h) from the center of Tropical Cyclone Nivar. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 150 miles (240 km) from the center of circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar will produce gusty winds along the coast of Tamil Nadu between Cuddalore and Chennai. Winds blowing water toward the coast could cause a storm surge of up to six feet (two meters) between Puducherry and Chennai. Nivar will drop heavy rain over parts of northern Tamil Nadu and flash floods could occur in some locations.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar will move south of a high pressure system over India and the Bay of Bengal. The high will steer Nivar toward the west-northwest. The wind speed will steadily decrease when Tropical Cyclone Nivar moves inland. Nivar will drop locally heavy rain over parts of southern Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka when it moves farther inland over southern India.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar Strengthens near Southeast India

Tropical Cyclone Nivar (04B) strengthened over the Bay of Bengal near Southeast India on Tuesday. At 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday the center of Tropical Cyclone Nivar was located at latitude 10.8°N and longitude 82.6°E which put it about 235 miles (380 km) southeast of Chennai India. Nivar was moving toward the northwest at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 70 m.p.h. (110 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 85 m.p.h. (135 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 982 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar strengthened to almost the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon over the Bay of Bengal near Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. More thunderstorms developed near the center of Nivar. Other strong thunderstorms were occurring in bands north and west of the center of circulation. Bands south and east of the center consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. Storms near the center generated upper level divergence which pumped mass away to the north and west of the tropical cyclone. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 110 miles (175 km) from the center of circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Nivar will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 29°C. It will move under the western end of an upper level ridge over the Bay of Bengal. The ridge will enhance the upper level divergence and contribute to the removal of mass, which will cause the surface pressure to decrease. Tropical Cyclone Nivar will intensify into the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Nivar will move around the western part of a high pressure system over Bay of Bengal. The high will steer Nivar toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track Tropical Cyclone Nivar will make landfall on the coast of India between Puducherry and Chennai in about 24 hours. Nivar will bring strong winds to southern India. Wind blowing water toward the coast will cause a storm surge of up to 6 feet (2 meters). Tropical Cyclone Nivar will drop heavy rain over parts of Tamil Nadu and flash floods could occur.

Tropical Cyclone Fani Develops East of Sri Lanka

Tropical Cyclone Fani developed over the southern Bay of Bengal east of Sri Lanka on Saturday.  At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Tropical Cyclone Fani was located at latitude 7.8°N and longitude 88.6°E which put it about 635 miles (1020 km) east-southeast of Chennai, India.  Fani was moving toward the north-northwest at 15 m.p.h. (24 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 989 mb.

A distinct low level center of circulation formed on the eastern side of a cluster of thunderstorms over the southern Bay of Bengal on Saturday and the India Meteorological Department designated the system as Tropical Cyclone Fani.  The circulation around Fani was still organizing.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms were developing.  Many of the stronger thunderstorms were developing in two clusters which were east and northwest of the center of circulation.  Bands in other parts of the circulation consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out about 100 miles (160 km) from the center of circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Fani will move into an environment that is more favorable for intensification.  Fani is currently under the southern part of an upper level ridge.  The ridge is producing easterly winds which are causing moderate vertical wind shear.  The wind shear is the primary factor slowing the intensification of Tropical Cyclone Fani.  Fani is forecast to move under the axis of the ridge where the upper level winds are weaker.  There will be less vertical wind shear when that happens.  Tropical Cyclone Fani will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 31°C.  So, intensification is very likely when the wind shear decreases.  Fani is likely to strengthen into the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon.  Rapid intensification could occur if the inner core of the circulation becomes more well developed.

Tropical Cyclone Fani will move around the western end of a subtropical ridge over southeast Asia.  The ridge will steer Fani toward the north-northwest during the next several days.  It will move more toward the north when it moves around the western end of the ridge.  On its anticipated track Tropical Cyclone Fani will move toward the northern Bay of Bengal.

Tropical Cyclone Phethai Forms Over Southwest Bay of Bengal

Tropical Cyclone Phethai formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal on Saturday.  At 4:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of Tropical Cyclone Phethai was located at latitude 11.1°N and longitude 84.5°E which put it about 480 miles (775 km) south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, India.  Phethai was moving toward the northwest at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 994 mb.

More thunderstorms developed closer to the center of a low pressure system over the southwestern Bay of Bengal and the Indian Meteorological Department designated the system as Tropical Cyclone Phethai.  The distribution of thunderstorms was asymmetrical.  Most of the stronger thunderstorms were occurring northwest of the center of circulation.  There were fewer thunderstorms southeast of the center, although several bands of thunderstorms were developing on the eastern periphery of the circulation.  Storms northwest of the center were generating upper level divergence which was pumping mass away to the north of the tropical cyclone.

Tropical Cyclone Phethai will move through an environment somewhat favorable for intensification.  Phethai will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 27°C.  It will move around the eastern end of an upper level ridge over southeast Asia.  The ridge is already producing southeasterly winds which are blowing toward the top of the circulation.  Those winds are causing moderate vertical wind shear and the shear is the reason for the asymmetrical distribution of thunderstorms.  The wind shear will continue and it will inhibit the intensification of Tropical Cyclone Phethai.  Phethai could strengthen during the next 24 to 36 hours, but the rate of intensification is likely to be slow.

The ridge over southeast Asia will steer Tropical Cyclone Phethai north-northwest during the next several days.  On its anticipated track Phethai will move toward the east coast of India.  Tropical Cyclone Phethai could approach the coast near Visakhaptnam in about 48 hours.  Phethai will bring gusty winds but heavy rain and flooding will be greater risks.

Elsewhere, Tropical Cyclone 06S formed over the South Indian Ocean on Saturday.  At 4:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of Tropical Cyclone 06S was located at latitude 9.1°S and longitude 91.2°E which put it about 1285 miles (2070 km) east of Diego Garcia.  It was moving toward the south-southeast at 3 m.p.h. (5 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 998 mb.