Friday, March 12, 2010

IPL-2010 starts with a patchy high cloud cover in Mumbai and with very less DEW around.
IPL-2010 starts with a patchy high cloud cover in Mumbai and with very less DEW around.
http://yfrog.com/iys7qj ... Coastal Orissa also received some mild showers today afternoon.
Good afternoon showers over North maharastra and into South M-P .. http://yfrog.com/iys7qj
Good afternoon showers over North maharastra and into South M-P .. http://yfrog.com/iys7qj
Chennai - is cool comparing to other parts of South India .. 33.3°C (1:45pm)
Palakkad in Kerala that recorded a sizzling 42 deg Celsius on 11-Mar-10.
Gradual rise in max temp. is being forecast over parts of north-west, central & east India during the next three days.. http://bit.ly/9RfK7s

Tropical Cyclone Hubert


Tropical Cyclone Hubert hovered over the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Madagascar on March 10, 2010. In a bulletin released the same day, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Hubert was located roughly 160 nautical miles (300 kilometers) southeast of Antananarivo, Madagascar, with maximum sustained winds of 35 knots (65 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 45 knots (85 kilometers per hour). The JTWC also reported, however, that the storm had begun to weaken and would continue to dissipate as it moved over land.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Hubert on March 10, 2010. The storm lacks a distinct eye but nevertheless spans hundreds of kilometers, from the western shores of Madagascar past the island of RĂ©union.

Mercury seen up in next 3 days in eastern, central parts

A gradual rise in maximum temperatures is being forecast over parts of north-west, central and east India during the next three days, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) outlook said on Thursday.

The heating comes on the heels of a western disturbance leaving the region, taking away with it associated clouding and moisture.

The clear skies would allow the sun to beat the surface straight and hard.

The country's hottest place on Thursday was far removed from north-west India, in Palakkad in Kerala that recorded a sizzling 42 deg Celsius.

IMD does not have a monitoring station in Palakkad; the reading was recorded by the Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC), a well-known NGO located in the rocky outback of Mundoor.

Palakkad city itself is learnt to have recorded a comparatively cooler 36 deg Celsius during the day.

Palakkad is vulnerable to heating extremes during this time of the year thanks to a barrage of hot easterlies from the dry plains across the border in Tamil Nadu, making their way through the Palakkad Gap.

Situated on the western side of the Gap, the Palakkad plains connect Kerala to the plains of Tamil Nadu and the Deccan.

This geographical location results in an environmental realm that is different from the rest of Kerala.

High-pressure area

The current phase of accelerated heating over the peninsula, including parts of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, is being overseen by a stubborn high-pressure region extending from as far east as the west Pacific.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting maintained that the system may start withdrawing to the east from the weekend. This would cause the heating to migrate gradually to the west of the peninsula at the instance of a building region of high pressure over the West Asian deserts and advancing towards north-west India.

Meanwhile on Thursday, maximum temperatures over north-west India were 4 to 7 deg Celsius above normal in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand.

A fresh western disturbance is expected to affect Jammu and Kashmir on Friday and Saturday.

No significant change in minimum temperatures is expected over north-west, central and east India during the next two days.

The incoming system should bring in moisture and cloudiness and help bring down the maximum temperatures later.

Isolated rain or snow has been forecast over Jammu and Kashmir on Friday and Saturday.


A gradual strengthening of the north-westerly to westerly winds too has been indicated over the Indo-Gangetic plains during the next four days. Isolated rain or thundershowers are likely over parts of the Northeastern States during the next three days.

Satellite imagery on Thursday revealed the presence of low to medium clouds (partly cloudy conditions) over parts of the western Himalayan region, central and east India and the Andaman Sea.

Towards the immediate south and southeast, a confluence of winds held overnight on Thursday over Vidarbha and adjoining Telangana. This is expected to cause isolated light rain or thundershowers over Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and parts of south Chhattisgarh, north Andhra Pradesh and Orissa during next three days. The outlook until Tuesday next suggest isolated to scattered rain or thundershowers over the Northeastern States. Isolated rain or thundershowers are also likely over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and extreme south peninsular India, the IMD said.

Mercury crosses 41 degrees C-mark in A.P.

Sustained heating over east and east-central India has seen mercury level at isolated places in interior Andhra Pradesh breach the 40 degree Celsius-mark.

In fact, Anantapur, at 41.4 degree Celsius, was the hottest place in the country during the 24 hours ending Wednesday morning, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) update said.

LIKELY RESPITE

Model forecasts are of the view that the heating trend would largely hold over the region until the weekend (Saturday). Some respite could be had as the causative high-pressure area with sinking hot air extending right from the Pacific recedes to the Maritime continent (South-East Asia and beyond) early next week.

According to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF), the net effect would be that the maximum heating trend would slowly shift across the peninsula to the west where it would be anchored by another high-pressure region advancing from West Asia.

In fact, the Global Forecast System of the US Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Centre sees this high-pressure region proceeding to invade extreme northwest and north India by March 17.

Crucially enough, this is shown to happen after a cyclonic circulation/low-pressure area gets lobbed into northwest India by westerlies, blowing around the advancing head of the high-pressure system.

Updated forecasts from the ECMWF see the ‘low' being pushed to east India by the advancing high-pressure region from West Asia. Over the past few days, it has been suggesting that the system might land up more to the west over central India.

WIND CONFLUENCE

Meanwhile, an IMD update on Wednesday said that confluence of winds from opposite directions would take place over north Maharashtra and adjoining Telangana during the next two days.

This is expected to cause isolated light rain or thundershowers over Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh, south Chhattisgarh, north Andhra Pradesh and Orissa during this period.

The prevailing feeble western disturbance over north Jammu and Kashmir and neighbourhood is moving away from north India. A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region during the next 24 hours. A gradual strengthening of winds is likely over the Indo-Gangetic plains.

Satellite imagery showed the presence of convective clouds capable of producing snow/rains over parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Low to medium clouds (partly cloudy conditions) were seen over parts of western Himalayan region, Punjab, peninsular India and north Andaman Sea.


During the past 24 hours, both maximum and minimum temperatures have risen by about 2 degree Celsius over many parts of northwest and central India. They were above normal by 4 – 7 degree Celsius also over western Himalaya region, thanks to the presence of moisture and clouding associated with the incoming western disturbance.

Isolated rain or snow is likely to occur over Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh during the next 24 hours, the IMD said. Minimum and maximum temperatures over northwest, central and east India are expected to rise slightly during the next two days.

Outlook until Monday next spoke about the possibility of isolated rain or thundershowers over Andaman and Nicobar Islands and extreme south peninsular India. By this time, the prevailing high-pressure over the region would have receded to the east, according to the model forecasts.