Andhra Pradesh [India]: Cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’ reached near Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast in the early hours of Wednesday. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the landfall process has begun. During this period, the maximum wind speed is expected to reach 125 to 135 kilometers per hour and strong winds are expected to reach 150 kilometers per hour.
Current Storm Position and Speed
According to the IMD, the storm has moved in a north-westerly direction at a speed of 3 km per hour in the last three hours. At 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the system was centred near latitude 16.4 degrees north and longitude 82.0 degrees east.
At present, its distance from some of the major places is as follows:
– About 30 km east
of Narsapura (Andhra Pradesh) – 45 km south-southwest
of Yanam (Puducherry) – 70 km south-southwest
of Kakinada – 90 km east-north-east
of Machilipatnam – 170 km east-north-east of Bapatla
The center of the storm is now extremely close to the coastline. The dense clouds of its northern part have already entered the interior. Continuous monitoring is being done by Doppler Weather Radar at Machilipatnam.
Possible path forward
The storm is initially going to slowly turn northwest and then north-northwest. It is very likely to cross Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm near south of Yanam during next three hours.
Rainfall data and alerts
In the rain recorded till 4:30 am on October 28, 94 mm water has fallen in Gopalpur, 67 mm in Puri, 38 mm in Bhubaneswar and 22.4 mm in Chandbali. The IMD has issued a red alert for Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas. Extremely heavy rainfall at a few places very likely over south Odisha on October 28. Heavy to very heavy rains are also expected in North Odisha, East Telangana and Jharkhand. On October 29, heavy rains may again occur in some areas of interior Odisha and Jharkhand. The Meteorological Department has advised to keep a constant watch on the changing weather conditions as the storm moves closer to the coast and its impact spreads to the neighbouring states.
[DD News]