Cyclone Fengal: Slow lateral speed may sustain heavy rain, wind gusts over TN coast
Friday’s cyclone Fengal over the south-west Bay of Bengal off the Tamil Nadu coast moved north-northwest with a reduced speed of 7 km/hr during the past six hours till 2.30 am on early Saturday morning, and lay centred at 210 km north-east of Nagapattinam; 180 km east of Puducherry; and 190 km south-east of Chennai.
Satellite pictures at 8 am on Saturday morning showed dense to very dense cloud cover extended over the Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts all the way from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada, Nellore, Chennai, Pucucherry to Nagapattinam. It also covered the adjoining interior across Proddatur, Tirupathi, Vellore, Salem and Tiruuchirappalli.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) maintained the outlook for the cyclone is to move nearly west-northwestwards and cross the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram close to Puducherry as a cyclone with a wind speed of 70-80 km/hr gusting to 90 km/hr this (Saturday) afternoon.
Various environmental features are indicating a favourable environment ranging from high sea-surface temperatures, low wind shear, convergence, divergence and positive vorticity for gradual intensification of the system, according to an analysis.
Dense rain bands have been observed over Chennai and around this morning, and wind gusts are likely during the day as the cyclone has slowed down due to a weak steering environment. Heavy rain may continue to lash many parts of the north Tamil Nadu coast until the system makes landfall near Puducherry later this afternoon.
