A preparatory cyclonic circulation has formed over South Andaman Sea which India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects to become a low-pressure area in next two days (by Friday). The ‘low’ could intensify further, move to the North-West, and go on to become ‘marked’ by Friday and set up a depression by Sunday.
The system could being heavy rainfall over the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on Thursday and Sunday and isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over the Andaman Islands on Friday and Saturday, the IMD said.
Warning to fishermen
Fishermen have been warned that on Wednesday and Thursday, squally weather with wind speeds reaching 40-50 kmph and gusting to 60 kmph (near-depression strength) may prevail over the South Andaman Sea and adjoining South-East Bay of Bengal.
On Friday, a similar weather may prevail over the Andaman Sea and the adjoining South-East Bay while on Saturday, wind speeds will perk up to 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph over the Andaman Sea and adjoining South-East and East-Central Bay.
On Sunday, winds may pick up further strength to 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph (deep depression to nearly-cyclone strength) over the North Andaman Sea and adjoining South-East and East-Central Bay, and at 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph over the South Andaman Sea.
Hint of cyclone over Bay
A number of weather models, including the numerical weather prediction division of the IMD, hint at a cyclone in the making in the Bay with a track either to the East Coast of India (Andhra Pradesh-Odisha) or the South Myanmar or adjoining Bangladesh. A May cyclone is tricky to call and predict a track of, and will bear close watching as it traverses the very warm waters (up to 31 degrees Celsius) of the Central and East Bay.
Meanwhile, heat wave conditions over land have abated and would be confined to pockets over North Madhya Maharashtra on Wednesday and Thursday; over Vidarbha from Thursday to Sunday; over West Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh from Thursday to Sunday; and over South-West Uttar Pradesh and East Rajasthan on Saturday and Sunday, as the depression over the Bay drags in hot north-westerlies.
Wet in East India, South Peninsula
An East-West trough extending from Punjab to Manipur in combination with a western disturbance will set off thunderstorms, lightning, hailstorms, dust storms and rain along the hills and plains of North-West India during the next couple of days.
Affected areas will include the hills and plains of North-West India including Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, West Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh. A separate trough over Peninsular India will bring isolated heavy rain to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.