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As expected, cyclone 'Phethai' intensified into a severe cyclone last night but has started weakening a bit as it encounters colder waters along the coast and shear by the marauding westerly winds from overland.
Early this morning, the severe cyclone was located 320 km east-north-east of Chennai but increasingly getting closer to the Andhra Pradesh coast where it would make a landfall this afternoon.
CURRENT BEARING
The India Met Department said that 'Phethai' was located 320 km east-north-east of Chennai (which it has already left behind) and 160 km of south-east of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Satellite image taken on December 17, 2018, at 09.45 IST
It is forecast to make the landfall around Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, 190 km away from its current bearing, this afternoon, by when it would have wound back to being a cyclone.
The IMD estimated that at the time landfall, the cyclone would be buffeted by gale wind speeds ranging from 70- to 90 km/hr and gusting to 100 km/hr.
Rainfall is forecast at most places over coastal Andhra Pradesh today with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and extremely heavy (20 cm and more) at some places over North Coastal Andhra Pradesh.
These include the districts of East Goadavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Krishna, Guntur, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam and Yanam district of Puducherry.
HEAVY RAINFALL
Heavy rainfall of various intensities has been forecast also for Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bengal, according to this forecast.
Squally winds with speed reaching up to 65 km/hr and gusting to 70 km/hr prevails along and off Andhra Pradesh this morning.
These may increase gradually becoming gale wind speed of 70- to 90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph along and off the Central Andhra Pradesh coast.
Areas where ferocious winds may prevail until this evening include the districts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, Krishna, Guntur, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Yanam.
Gale winds with speed reaching up to 70 km/hr and gusting to 80 km/hr are likely to prevail along and off the remaining parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Squally winds with speed of up to 50 km/hr gusting to 60 km/hr is likely to prevail along and off North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts during the same period.
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