After cyclone Gulab, another cyclonic storm brews over Bay of Bengal; Odisha to experience heavy rainfall

After being hit by cyclone Gulab on Sunday, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal will witness another cyclonic circulation this week.

The cyclonic circulation is gaining momentum near the east-central Bangladesh-Myanmar area and is likely to move towards coastal areas of West Bengal, the Met department said in a statement.

Also read: How did Cyclone Gulab gets its name?

“A cyclonic circulation now lies over Northeast and adjoining Eastcentral Bay of Bengal. Under its influence, a low pressure area is likely to form over Northwest Bay of Bengal off West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh coasts during next 12 hours,” Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar tweeted.

It started as a ‘Low Pressure Area’ (LPA) over east-central Bay of Bengal on September 24; by September 25 noon, it had turned into a well-marked LPA over east-central Bay of Bengal and by night, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a pre-cyclone watch alert for north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha.

By Tuesday evening, it is likely to move west-northwestwards and weaken into a well-marked LPA and finally emerge into the northeast Arabian Sea near Gujarat coast on September 30, where – the IMD said – there is likelihood for the system to further intensity over northeast Arabian Sea during subsequent 24 hours, reported IANS.

Also read: Cyclone Gulab makes landfall in Andhra, moderate rainfall in Odisha

Parts of Odisha will experience heavy rain and thunderstorm for three days from September 28 under the influence of cyclonic circulation. Cyclone Gulab made landfall at Andhra Pradesh coast, about 95 kilometres from Gopalpur in Odisha on September 26 evening.

“Under the influence of the cyclonic circulation, a low pressure area has formed over Northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of West Bengal. It is likely to become more marked during the next 24 hours,” said the Meteorological Centre Bhubaneswar in another tweet.

While it is not rare to have cyclones or cyclonic storms in September — India has two seasons for cyclones, pre-monsoon (March to May) and post-monsoon (October to December) — it is not even that common, IANS quoted an IMD scientist as saying.