Bay in churn as Pacific throws up fresh storm

The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre has located a fresh tropical storm, Ma-on, around 1,500 km east-southeast of Iwo To, Japan.

The storm has tracked a west-northwest track in the central Pacific and is forecast to keep travelling in the same direction.

SUPER TYPHOON?

While doing so, it is forecast to grow several times over in intensity during the next few days.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts sees the likely super typhoon roaring towards the northeast China coast past southern Japan for a landfall.

This typhoon would be the most significant weather feature during the course of the week, flows feeding into which could also trigger upstream activity towards far west in the Bay of Bengal.

As if on cue, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said on Tuesday evening that the Bay of Bengal has thrown up a fresh upper air cyclonic circulation.

It has happened side by side an ongoing surge in monsoon flows across the west coast into peninsular India and further into the Bay.

‘LOW' BREWING

This system could go on to set up a ‘feeble' low-pressure area, which, according to the US National Centres for Environmental Prediction, could push in a rain head into north peninsular India later during the week.

The axis of the seasonal monsoon trough over land has kept oscillating to north and south from its normal position during the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning, deciding the fortunes of the monsoon.

But the monsoon has been active over Gujarat region, among the few Met subdivisions with major rain deficits, during this period.

WEATHER WARNING

Kalpana-1 satellite imagery in the afternoon showed the presence of convective (rain-bearing) clouds over parts of east Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, east, central and northeast India, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, central and south Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea and southeast Arabian Sea.

A weather warning said that isolated heavy rainfall would break out over coastal Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and north coastal Andhra Pradesh during the next two days.

It would be isolated heavy over south Chhattisgarh and Orissa on Wednesday, bringing welcome precipitation into the rice-growing areas.

PENINSULAR RAINS

A short-term forecast valid until Friday said that fairly widespread rain or thundershowers would occur along the west coast and the Northeastern States, central and adjoining peninsular India