Ahmedabad gets rain while Cyclone Maha dissipates in Arabian Sea

AHMEDABAD: As Cyclone Maha weakens in the Arabian Sea, 70km south of Diu while approaching the Gujarat coast on Thursday morning, coastal areas of the state received heavy rainfall whereas other parts of the state including Ahmedabad saw a change in the weather, with light to moderate showers. Several parts of the city received light showers.
Jayanta Sarkar, regional director of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said that the cyclone, had curved back towards Gujarat after taking the form of a severe cyclonic storm, but weakened during approach and did not make landfall in the state.
“It had taken the form of a deep depression which will eventually become a low-pressure area over the northeast Arabian Sea, off the coast of Gujarat. While it did not cause any damage due heavy winds as expected, it will produce rainfall in several parts of the state on Thursday and Friday,” he added.
The state administration was keeping a close eye on the cyclone for the past four days, when it became apparent that Maha would change course and come towards Gujarat. The state was third-time lucky, as two other major cyclones this season - Vayu and Kyarr - also skirted the state’s shores and did not cause much damage.
Till 8pm on Thursday, Thasra in Kheda received 55mm of rain, followed by Jafrabad in Amreli (54mm), Umarpada in Surat (53mm), Una in Gir Somnath (29mm) and Ankleshwar in Bharuch (28mm). In Ahmedabad district, Viramgam received 4mm and Sanand 2mm.
The IMD has forecast light to moderate rain for Friday. Light to moderate rainfall is likely in Bharuch, Anand, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Bhavnagar, Amreli and the Union Territories of Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The state has so far this year received 1,187mm of rain, surpassing the 2013 record for the decade’s highest in a season.