Kolkata: The very severe cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’ lost its intensity by Wednesday evening after making a landfall between Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts around 8 am and reduced to a cyclonic storm.Though the wind speed reduced, the system will continue to trigger light to moderate rain in the city and other parts of West Bengal till Thursday.The system would further weaken into a deep depression as it continues to move north-northwestwards during the next 48 hours, said Met officials. The system will also pass through Chattisgarh. The system will have an indirect impact on the city’s weather. “Since our region is on the outer periphery of the storm, we are getting impacted only by the outer band of the system and hence there will be no incessant or heavy rain in Kolkata. The city had been experiencing its impact since Tuesday as it received light-to-moderate rain. The chance of rain and an overcast sky reduces from Friday,” said HR Biswas, head at Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata. Met officials have not ruled out one or two spells of heavy rain in some south Bengal districts. Parts of North Bengal will also get spells of rain. While Kolkata recorded 19 mm of rain during the sharp shower on Tuesday evening, some districts like Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura recorded 40 mm of rain and above. According to an IMD special bulletin, Arnab crossed Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam to the southwest of Yanam as a very severe cyclonic storm.By 8 am, its landfall process got completed with the central region moving completely into the land. When it entered the land, its core wind speed ranged between 125 kmph and 135 kmph, gusting upto 150 kmph. After landfall, the system lost its intensity, turning into a severe cyclonic storm. By evening, its core wind speed was between 70 kmph and 80 kmph.
