Cyclone Nilam - Moving N-W towards Cuddalore, Pondicherry

Cyclone Nilam, Moving N-W towards Cuddalore, Pondicherry.
9:30am, Satellite visible shot shows .. it has moved N-W and still maintaining a strong core.
Pressure  ::  985mb
Wind  ::  upto 90km/hr
Position  ::  See the map image below.

JTWC warning at 8:30am IST

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POSITION NEAR 10.6N 81.3E.
TROPICAL CYCLONE (TC) 02B, LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 185 NM SOUTH-
SOUTHEAST OF CHENNAI, INDIA, HAS TRACKED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD AT 07 
KNOTS OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. ANIMATED INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY 
SHOWS DEEP CENTRAL CONVECTION HAS PERSISTED OVER THE LOW LEVEL 
CIRCULATION CENTER (LLCC). THE OVERALL STRUCTURE APPEARS TO BE 
MAINTAINING ITS ORGANIZATION OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS WHICH IS IN 
LINE WITH THE DVORAK INTENSITY ESTIMATES FROM PGTW AND KNES. THE 
LLCC REMAINS ON A STEADY TRACK AROUND THE LOW- TO MID-LEVEL 
SUBTROPICAL RIDGE (STR) LOCATED IN THE BAY OF BENGAL. UPPER LEVEL 
ANALYSIS INDICATES THE UPPER LEVEL EXTENSION OF THE STR IS CREATING 
FAVORABLE DIFFLUENCE OVER THE SYSTEM, AND IS ALSO LEADING TO 
MODERATE LEVELS OF VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (10 TO 20 KNOT). THE 
FAVORABLE DIFFLUENCE IS THE PRIMARY MECHANISM SUPPORTING THE 
SUSTAINED DEEP CONVECTION. MODEL GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW THE 
SYSTEM TRACKING INTO THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF INDIA AND WEAKENING IN 
THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS DUE TO INCREASING LAND INTERACTION. THERE 
HAS BEEN A SLIGHT SHIFT IN THE MODELS SHOWING THE LLCC COULD 
APPROACH THE WESTERN COAST OF INDIA IN LATER TAUS, BUT THERE DOES 
NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY REDEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM IN THE ARABIAN SEA. 
BASED ON THE TIGHT GROUPING OF MODEL GUIDANCE THROUGH TAU 24, THERE 
IS HIGH CONFIDENCE IN THE TRACK FORECAST. MAXIMUM SIGNIFICANT WAVE 
HEIGHT AT 310000Z IS 17 FEET.

IMD warning at 7:30am IST

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Cyclonic storm ‘NILAM’ over southwest Bay of Bengal: Cyclone Warning for North Tamil Nadu,
Puducherry and adjoining South Andhra Pradesh coasts—Orange Message
The Cyclonic Storm ‘NILAM’, moved northwestwards and lay centred at 0530 hours IST of today, the
31th October 2012 near latitude 10.50N and longitude 81.50E, about 320 km south-southeast of Chennai and 220 km north of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka). The system would move north-northwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu & adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coast between Cuddalore and Nellore, near Chennai by 31stOctober, 2012 evening.