Tag Archives: Salalah

Tropical Cyclone Tej Moves Toward Eastern Yemen

Tropical Cyclone Tej moved over the Arabian Sea toward eastern Yemen on Sunday. At 11:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday the center of Tropical Cyclone Tej was located at latitude 13.6°N and longitude 54.0°E which put it about 255 miles (410 km) south of Salalah, Oman. Tej was moving toward the northwest at 10 m.p.h. (16 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 115 m.p.h. (185 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 145 m.p.h. (235 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 961 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Tej appeared to go through an eyewall replacement cyclone on Sunday. The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the original small eye and eyewall. The inner eyewall dissipated on Sunday afternoon and a larger eye was apparent on satellite images. The new, larger eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Tropical Cyclone Tej. Storms near the center generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the tropical cyclone.

Even though Tropical Cyclone Tej went through an eyewall replacement cycle, its circulation was still small. Winds to hurricane/typhoon force extended out 20 miles (30 km) from the center of Tej’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 90 miles (145 km) from the center of circulation. The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Tropical Cyclone Tej was 20.6. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 8.7 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 29.3. Tropical Cyclone Tej was similar in size and intensity to Hurricane Zeta when Zeta hit Louisiana in 2020.

Tropical Cyclone Tej will move through an environment that will become more unfavorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Tej will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C. It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and there will be little vertical wind shear. However, Tropical Cyclone Tej will move closer to dry air over Yemen and Oman. Northerly winds in the western side of Tej’s circulation could start to pull the dry air into the tropical cyclone. The recently completed eyewall replacement cycle and the dry air could cause Tropical Cyclone Tej to weaken during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Tej will move around the southwestern part of a high pressure system over South Asia. The high pressure system will steer Tej toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Tej will approach the coast of eastern Yemen near Nishtun in 24 hours. Tej will bring strong winds to eastern Yemen. Tropical Cyclone Tej will also drop heavy rain on parts of eastern Yemen and western Oman. Heavy rain could cause flash floods in some locations.

Tropical Cyclone Tej Rapidly Intensifies to Equivalent of a Major Hurricane

Tropical Cyclone Tej rapidly intensified to the equivalent of a major hurricane over the Arabian Sea east-southeast of Socotra on Saturday. At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Tropical Cyclone Tej was located at latitude 11.7°N and longitude 56.3°E which put it about 175 miles (280 km) east-southeast of Socotra. Tej was moving toward the northwest at 13 m.p.h. (21 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 120 m.p.h. (195 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 140 m.p.h. (220 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 958 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Tej rapidly intensified to the equivalent of a major hurricane over the Arabian Sea on Saturday. A small circular eye with a diameter of 10 miles (16 km) formed at the center of Tej’s circulation. The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of circulation. Storms near the center generated strong upper level divergence that pumped large amounts of mass away from the tropical cyclone. The removal of large amounts of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease rapidly.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone Tej was small. Winds to hurricane/typhoon force extended out 15 miles (25 km) from the center of Tej’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 100 miles (160 km) from the center of circulation. The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Tropical Cyclone Tej was 22.1. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 6.0 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 28.1. Tropical Cyclone Tej was capable of causing localized major damage.

Tropical Cyclone Tej will move through an environment very favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Tej will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C. It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and there will be little vertical wind shear. Tropical Cyclone Tej could continue to intensify rapidly during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Tej will move around the southwestern part of a high pressure system over South Asia. The high pressure system will steer Tej toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Tej will be east of Socotra in 12 hours. The core of Tej’s circulation that contains the strongest winds will pass east of Socotra. Bands in the western side of Tropical Cyclone Tej will bring gusty winds and locally heavy rain to Socotra. Heavy rain could cause flash floods in some locations. Tropical Cyclone Tej will approach the coast between Harrah, Yemen and Salalah, in 48 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Forms Over the Arabian Sea

A tropical cyclone formed over the Arabian Sea on Friday evening. At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of Tropical Cyclone 05A was located at latitude 10.0°N and longitude 58.8°E which put it about 600 miles (965 km) southeast of Salalah, Oman. The tropical cyclone was moving toward the west-northwest at 8 m.p.h. (13 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 997 mb.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone 05A organized quickly over the Arabian Sea on Friday evening. The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the center of the tropical cyclone’s circulation. A broken ring of thunderstorms surrounded the center of circulation and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of circulation. Storms near the center generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the tropical cyclone. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 140 miles (220 km) from the center of Tropical Cyclone 05A.

Tropical Cyclone 05A will move through an environment very favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. The tropical cyclone will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C. It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and there will be little vertical wind shear. Tropical Cyclone 05A is likely to intensify to the equivalent of a hurricane/typhoon during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone 05A will move around the southwestern part of a high pressure system over South Asia. The high pressure system will steer the tropical cyclone toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone 05A will move closer to Oman.

Tropical Depression Forms Near Western Oman

A Tropical Depression formed over the Arabian Sea near the coast of western Oman on Friday.  At 2:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of the tropical depression was located at latitude 16.8°N and longitude 54.2°E which put it about 10 miles (15 km) southeast of Salalah, Oman.  The depression was moving toward the west-northwest at 2 m.p.h. (3 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 30 m.p.h. (50 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1004 mb.

More thunderstorms developed near the center of a small low pressure system near the coast of western Oman on Friday and the India Meteorological Department classified the system as a depression.  Thunderstorms were forming near the center of the depression.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of circulation.  Storms near the center were generating upper level divergence which was pumping mass away from the depression in all directions.

The tropical depression will move through an environment favorable for intensification if the center remains over water.  It will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 31°C.  The depression will be under an upper level ridge where the winds are weak.  There will be little vertical wind shear and the upper level ridge will enhance upper level divergence.  If the center of the tropical depression remains over the Arabian Sea, then it is likely to strengthen into the equivalent of a tropical storm during the next 24 to 48 hours.  If the center of circulation moves inland over western Oman and eastern Yemen, then intensification becomes much less likely.

The tropical depression will move under the upper level ridge and the steering winds will be very weak.  The depression is forecast to drift very slowly toward the west during the next several days,  The center of the depression could remain just off the coast or it could move slowly inland.  The slow movement of the depression will allow it to drop locally heavy rain over parts of western Oman and eastern Yemen.  The heavy rain could very likely cause flash floods in some locations.