Cyclone Tauktae: Partly cloudy skies, slight dip in temperature expected in Bihar

PATNA: Even as the extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Tauktae' lashed parts of Maharashtra during the day and hit coastal Gujarat late in the evening on Monday, weathermen at the Patna Meteorological Centre said it was unlikely to have much impact on the weather in Bihar.
Partly cloudy skies along with a slight dip in mercury are, however, expected in the next 24 hours.
As per a special bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) at 5.30 pm on Monday, Tauktae was centred over east-central and the adjoining northeast Arabian Sea, 190 km west-northwest of Mumbai and 90 km southeast of Diu, moving towards Gujarat coast at a speed of 170-180 kmph gusting up to 200 kmph.
The IMD stated in the bulletin that it was likely to cross the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Bhavnagar district between 8-11 pm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting up to 185 kmph.
Sanjay Kumar, an official at the Patna Meteorological Centre, claimed that only the outer band of the cyclone may influence the weather in Bihar and eastern parts of the country.
"After making landfall near Porbandar in Gujarat, Tauktae is expected to move north-eastward. Like any other cyclone, Tauktae will also start gradually weakening after landfall as moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea will gradually reduce as it will move over,” the official said.
“Nevertheless, we expect partly cloudy skies along with a slight drop in temperature in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring region till Tuesday night," Sanjay told TOI on Monday evening.
Cyclone Tauktae, the season’s first major storm, is likely to enter Rajasthan after making landfall over the Gujarat coast and private weather agencies have also claimed that its ruminants may affect Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand as well.
It is likely to weaken from an extremely severe cyclonic storm to a severe cyclonic storm by Monday midnight and cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning and further into depression by Tuesday afternoon, by when wind speed is likely to come down to 35-45kmph.
Meanwhile, surging mercury continues to raise discomfort level in the state. Gaya was the hottest place in Bihar on Monday with the maximum temperature recorded at 41.3 degrees C, while it stood at 40 degrees C at Patna.
Weathermen have predicted that maximum temperature is likely to be in the range of 35-38 degrees C in north Bihar and 37-41 degrees C in south Bihar, with districts, including Buxar, Bhojpur, Gaya and Patna to be comparatively hotter.