Cyclone Yaas: Know What Is Landfall & Its Process As Told By Skymet Chief

Bhubaneswar: The very severe cyclonic storm Yaas is crossing the Odisha coast after making landfall at 9 am between north of Dhamra and south of Balasore close to Bahanaga block coast.

The process continued for nearly 4 hours with the districts of Balasore and Bhadrak bearing the maximum impact of the storm.

What is landfall?

Giving a clear picture, Skymet President GP Sharma said landfall is a long and time-consuming process.

In the case of Cyclone Tautake it took four hours and in Yaas, it started South of Balasore and North of Dhamra as a very severe cyclonic storm and will cross the coast around 1.30 pm with a wind speed of 150 kmph.

Landfall happens when the cyclone has an inner ring of dense overcast cloud mass and it is accompanied by strong winds and torrential rains, Sharma told IndiaAhead News.

“When the outer periphery of the ring reaches the coast then we say the landfall process has begun,” he was quoted as saying by the news channel.

Strong winds lash the areas in the path of the cyclone during this time. “As the cyclone closes in, the gustiness increases due to its interaction with the land and frictional forces come into being. That is when the torrential rains, copious rains and gale speed increases causing a huge amount of interruptions in traffic, rail and road,” the Skymet president said.

“Normally, when the cyclones make landfall and when the centre crosses the coast, they have a tendency to weaken. This particular storm will also act the same way. By 1 pm it will complete its landfall and weaken to turn into a severe cyclonic storm,” he added.

It is going to spend a lot of time in Odisha as a severe cyclonic storm. In the next 6 hours, the fury of Yaas can be felt in the interiors of Jajpur, Keonjhar, Angul, Sambalpur and Cuttack. These areas will be vulnerable to the storm, Sharma added.

The storm will have its impact on West Bengal too and areas like Digha, Contai, Midnapur East and West, Hoogly, Howrah and 24 Parganas will feel the impact. In fact, Chinsurah experienced a tornado on Tuesday evening.