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A day after it reached within striking distance of the Saurashtra coast, the very severe cyclone 'Vayu' has not weakened but appears to have practically stalled over the North-East Arabian Sea.
An hourly update from the India Met Department (IMD) issued at 10.30 am this (Friday) morning said 'Vayu' is seen clearly skirting the Saurashtra coast and slowly moving away.
Squally weather continues along the coastal areas, with Porbandar reporting wind speeds of 35 km/hr and Diu 25 km/hr at 8.30 am this morning, an IMD update said.
'VAYU' PROWLS NEAR
Wind speeds may ramp up to 60 km/hr, gusting to 70 km/hr over Porbandar and Devbhoomi Dwarka, and up to 40 km/hr gusting to 50 km/hr over Gir Somnath, Diu and Junagarh until noon today (Friday).
Rainfall reported during the last 24 hours ending this morning (in cm) are Talala-16; Sutrapada-14.5; Vantali-8.5; Bhavnagar-8.1; Mendarda-7.2; Malia-6.9; and Verava-6.0.
According to latest reports, 'Vayu' has been spotted over the North-East and adjoining East-Central Arabian Sea, 270 km West-North-West of Diu and 150 km West-South-West of Porbandar.
Meanwhile, the offshore trough, the receptacle for the incoming monsoon moisture and a meteorological feature indicating monsoon conditions, lies extended from the Karnataka coast to the Kerala coast.
During active (strong) monsoon conditions, it runs along the entire West Coast from Gujarat to Kerala, but the presence of 'Vayu' in the seas will direct the flows mostly into it and the fringes of the Saurashtra coast.
The IMD said fresh widespread rainfall may break over the southern parts of the West Coast, North-East India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the rest of South and East India from midweek next week.
FRESH MONSOON PULSE
This would be the harbinger of a fresh monsoon pulse building around a low-pressure area expected to form in the Bay of Bengal. A preliminary cyclonic circulation is waiting to earn its spurs as an impending 'low.'
As for today, 'Vayu' would generate gale winds clocking up to 130 km/hr, gusting to 145 km/hr over the North Arabian Sea, and 70 km/hr gusting to 80 km/hr over the Gujarat coast until this evening.
The wind speeds are expected to relent gradually. The sea condition is 'phenomenal' (wave heights of 46 ft or beyond) over the North Arabian Sea and over northern parts of the East-Central Arabian Sea during this period.
It would be 'rough' to 'high' (wave heights of up to 20 ft) over the rest of the East-Central Arabian Sea. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the North Arabian Sea, and along and off the Gujarat/ Maharashtra coasts.
According to the forecast for the rest of today (Friday), heavy to very heavy falls are likely at a few places over the coastal districts of Saurashtra and Kutch, while extremely heavy falls are likely at isolated places.
It would be heavy at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, East Gujarat, Konkan & Goa, coastal Karnataka, South Interior Karnataka, Kerala and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
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