The very severe cyclone Ockhi has stepped out of the badly stricken Lakshadweep Islands, and was located on Sunday evening over the East-Central Arabian Sea and adjoining South-East Arabian Sea.
This put it at a distance of 450 km west-north-west of Amini Divi (North Lakshadweep), 860 km south-south-west of Mumbai, and 1.07 km south-south-west of Surat in south Gujarat.
This points to a shift in Ockhi’s track from Sunday night, orienting it towards north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts. Majority forecasts said it would wind down as a low-pressure area by the time it reaches the south Gujarat coast by Wednesday.
The shift in ‘Ockhi’s track is also being orchestrated by the western disturbance, which would dip down to the Arabian Sea to scoop it up, fasten it into its under-carriage, and dump it over south-Gujarat-Mumbai.
An India Met Department (IMD) has forecast the possibility of fresh spell of heavy to very heavy rain over the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts from Tuesday in view of the approach of a fresh storm rearing over the Bay of Bengal.
A preparatory well-marked low-pressure area is lying in wait over south Andaman Sea and adjoining South-East Bay of Bengal. This is expected to become a depression and later a deep depression, while moving towards Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh coasts.