Cyclonic Storm To Hit Odisha On May 13!

Bhubaneswar: A cyclonic storm with high intensity like Amphan is most likely to hit the Odisha coast around May 13, the US-based National Weather Service (NWS) has warned on the basis of the Global Forecast System (GFS).

According to the GFS model, a cyclonic circulation will form over the Bay of Bengal around May 10. The system will intensify as low pressure in the next 48 hours on May 12. It is most likely to intensify and concentrate into a cyclonic storm and hit the northern coast between Odisha and West Bengal on May 13.

However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has maintained that there is no cyclone threat for Odisha at present.

“At present, the IMD has no such weather data. However, it will issue a release immediately if any system forms over the Bay of Bengal,” senior meteorologist of the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar Uma Shankar Das told the media on Monday.

According to the former director of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar and director, Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) of SOA University, Sarat Chandra Sahu, although a cyclonic circulation will form over the South Bay of Bengal around May 10 or 11, there is no weather data on whether the system will intensify into a cyclonic storm.

“Usually, a number of cyclonic circulations are formed over the Bay of Bengal before the onset of the south-west monsoon. These cyclonic circulations activate the monsoon to push it towards the coast,” Sahu added.

On the possibility of a cyclonic storm, he said that a clear picture will emerge in the next 3-4 days.