Cyclone Montha: Bengal May Escape Heavy Rain, but Disasters Can't Be Ruled Out Entirely

Cyclone Montha is brewing in the Bay of Bengal and is expected to make landfall in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday night, intensifying into a severe cyclonic storm with winds of up to 110kmph. Although Bengal may escape heavy rain, the Met office and disaster management authorities will remain alert even after landfall, as cyclones have previously brought post-landfall rain to Calcutta. The system is expected to move north-northwestward as it approaches land, potentially affecting north Odisha.

Key Takeaways:

• Cyclone Montha is expected to make landfall in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday night, intensifying into a severe cyclonic storm with winds of up to 110kmph.
• Bengal may escape heavy rain, but the Met office and disaster management authorities will remain alert even after landfall.
• Cyclones have previously brought post-landfall rain to Calcutta, and the system is expected to move north-northwestward as it approaches land.
• If Montha maintains its trajectory after landfall, it may move toward north Odisha, potentially affecting the region.
• A Met bulletin stated that Cyclone Montha is likely to move northwestwards, then north-northwestwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning.
• The last cyclone to bring heavy rainfall to Calcutta was Dana, which made landfall in Odisha's Kendrapara over 400km from the city, but clouds from it caused nearly 200mm of rain in Calcutta.
• H.R. Biswas, head of the weather section at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore, stated that winds from the system are unlikely to have any bearing on south Bengal.

Statistics:

• The maximum sustained wind speed of Cyclone Montha is expected to be 90-100kmph gusting to 110kmph.
• The cyclone is expected to move at a speed of nearly 25-30kmph.
• As of Saturday morning, the system was over 1,300km from Bengal.
• Cyclone Dana, the last cyclone to bring heavy rainfall to Calcutta, made landfall in Odisha's Kendrapara over 400km from the city.

Sources:

• ABP Private Limited
• Contify.com