Expect heavy rain as Phethai closes in

CHENNAI : As predicted, Cyclone Phethai that is brewing in the Bay of Bengal, will be hitting the Andhra Pradesh coast between Ongole and Kakinada, on December 17 afternoon. Chennai will start receiving moderate rainfall from Saturday and may get heavy spells on Sunday morning as the system closes in on AP coast.

S Balachandran, deputy director general of Meteorology, told Express that Sunday would be the only chance for Chennai to get some good rainfall. “The deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal moved west-­northwestwards with a speed of 11 kmph and lay centered over southeast Bay of Bengal about 870 km east­-southeast of Chennai, and 1040 km southeast of Machlipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

It is very likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and into a severe cyclonic storm in the subsequent 24 hours. It is very likely to move north-­northwest-wards and cross Andhra Pradesh coast between Ongole and Kakinada on December 17 afternoon,” said IMD bulletin. 

Move along AP coast
Neetha K Gopal, scientist at Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre, New Delhi, said as per the model forecast, the storm will be pushed further up along AP to Odisha due to tropospheric westerlies