Kolkata: A low-pressure area brewing over Bay of Bengal is set to strengthen into the year’s first tropical cyclonic storm, which could hit the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast on the night of Oct 28 (Wednesday). The Met office said in its initial forecast that the system may trigger showers in Bengal, including light to moderate rain in Kolkata from Tuesday and a few heavy spells in the coastal belt on Wednesday and Thursday.If the system intensifies into a cyclone, it would be called Arnab (meaning ocean), a name given by Bangladesh.The low-pressure area and an associated cyclonic circulation extending up to 5.8 km above the mean sea level formed over east-central and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal on Friday morning, according to a special IMD bulletin. The composite system is likely to persist over the same region and intensify into a depression on Oct 24.“Thereafter, it is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify further into a deep depression on Oct 25 and into a cyclonic storm over westcentral Bay of Bengal by Oct 26 morning. It would then continue to intensify further and move west-northwestwards towards North Andhra Pradesh and adjoining South Odisha coasts during the subsequent two days,” according to a special bulletin issued by IMD.The Met office said that while it was too early to predict the trajectory of the system, the coastal Bengal will start feeling its impact from Tuesday in the form of squally winds. “Heavy rainfall activity very likely to occur at one or two places over some districts of West Bengal during Oct 28 to 30,” said the bulletin.H R Biswas, of Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata, said the city is likely to receive light to moderate rain from Tuesday. “If the system intensifies into a cyclone, this will be the first cyclonic storm over Bay of Bengal this year. While Bengal is unlikely to fall in the direct trajectory of the system, coastal Bengal is likely to receive a few spells of heavy rain. We have issued a warning for fishermen,” said Biswas.The period from Oct to Dec is conducive to the formation of cyclones over Bay of Bengal.“We are continuously monitoring the system, which might intensify further after transforming into a cyclonic storm. But it is too early to say how far it will intensify,” Biswas said.A cyclonic storm can intensify further into a severe, a very severe, an extremely severe or a super cyclone.
