The India Met Department has revised upwards for a second time expected wind speeds of very severe cyclone Hudhud at the time of landfall tomorrow.
The Met now says that the system may pack peak wind speeds of 170 to 180 km/hr gusting to 195 km/hr when it crosses Visakhapatnam tomorrow morning.
This is a significant upward recalibration of the wind speeds, which also raises the damage potential of the very severe cyclone.
The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre is already recording stronger wind speeds - 194 km/hr gusting to 240 km/hr – in its 2.30 pm update.
It expects the maximum speeds at landfall to touch 212 km/hr with gusts of 259 km/hr - which is as close as it gets to being called a super cyclone (in India Met parlance).
The US Centre has also said Hudhud features an ‘eye’ at the centre, which signals the strengthening phase of the cyclonic system.
RE-CURVE OVER LAND
The eye represents an elongated area of calm weather in the centre of a cyclonic system at its roaring best, and indicates the mature state of its growth and being.
The very severe cyclonic storm lurks at a distance of 277 km southeast of Visakhapatnam at 2.30 pm, the US Centre said.
It also gave the first indications that the system after landfall would re-curve its track towards the north and northeast of India.
It also tended to confirm the forecast of the arrival of a deep western disturbance to coincide with the landfall, with which it would interact.
The result would be moderate to widespread rainfall for north and east India, as the western disturbance keeps moving to the east with the Hudhud remnant in tow.
HEAVY RAIN
In light of the landfall of the cyclone, heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy falls has been projected over west and east Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram, and Srikakulam off north Andhra Pradesh from tomorrow.
A similar warning is valid for Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Kalahandi and Phulbani districts of south Odisha.
Rainfall could occur at most places, with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall in the districts of Krishna, Guntur, and Prakasham in Andhra Pradesh and north coastal Odisha during the same period.
WIND WARNING
Squally wind with speeds reaching 50-60 km/hr and gusting to 70 km/hr would commence along and off the north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts from tomorrow morning.
The wind speed would gradually increase to 170-180 km/hr, gusting to 195 km/hr from Sunday morning, the day of landfall, along and off East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam and to 80-90 km/hr along and off the adjoining districts of West Godavari and Krishna districts in north Andhra Pradesh and Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, and Malkangiri districts in south Odisha.