Skymet weather

Tropical storm Fung-Wong heading towards Taiwan

Tropical storm Fung-WongTropical storm Fung-Wong has brought heavy rains and gusty winds to parts of northern Philippines and is now headed towards Taiwan. Earlier in the week, the tropical storm has already flooded Manila, where more than 36,000 people have been displaced. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has reported at least five deaths. Parts of the Philippines were already impacted by Typhoon Kalmaegi.

Fung-Wong was formed on September 18, around just east of Philippines and is now moving towards the north-northwest. According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, it is estimated that many areas of Luzon would witness very strong winds and flooding in low lying areas. Heavy rainfall of 100 mm to 200 mm is the greatest threat, sighting the risk of mudslides. Fung-Wong is moving north and is expected to track to the north-northeast. This track would take Fung-Wong over Taiwan through Sunday and into Monday.

Moving on further, Fung-Wong may strengthen as it will be slowly moving into a favorable atmospheric environment and over warm water temperatures. However, intensification may be limited due to its expected close proximity to land, especially if Fung-Wong moves directly north over the high mountains of Taiwan. If it avoids a direct landfall on Taiwan, it will have a better chance of becoming a typhoon.

Regardless of the exact track, Taiwan will likely experience damaging winds, very heavy rainfall, high surf and the risk of mudslides. Rainfall totals in eastern parts of Taiwan could exceed 300 mm.

After impacting Taiwan, Fung-Wong is expected to turn to the north-northwest towards eastern China. The remnants of Fung-Wong may also bring heavy rain to South Korea and Japan next week, bringing the risk of flood in the areas of Japan, leading to landslides.

 

 

Welcome winters with autumn equinox

Meteorologically, Autumn season began on September 01 but it is the autumnal equinox that marks the astronomical start to the fall season. Today is officially the last calendar day of the summer season. Tomorrow is the autumnal equinox in the northern hemisphere, when the length of day and night will be nearly equal as the sun shines directly on the equator.

It is time to bid goodbye to the smell of sunscreen and say hello apple cider and pumpkin pie. People will be soon seen wrapped in layers of clothes. According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the weather in India has turned pleasant, with maximum temperature hovering around mid 30s and mornings and nights turning quite pleasing.  As the days progress, there will be significant drop in both maximum and minimum temperatures.

What is 'equinox'?

The word ‘equinox’ has been derived from two Latin words, aequus (equal) and nox (night) and thereby, meaning ‘equal night’. Every year we have two equinoxes when the sun's rays shine directly over the Earth's equator- one in March and the other in September, making length of day and night almost equal.  This year, the Sun will cross the celestial equator, which is the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator going from north to south, on September 22. Tomorrow, the axis of the Earth will neither tilt away from nor towards the Sun.

Two equinoxes, Vernal or spring equinox and autumnal equinox, fall between the two Solstices when the sun is directly overhead at the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.

Importance of equinox

The September equinox marks the beginning of the autumn season, as plants start shedding leaves and animals gear up for going into hibernation. From this point on, daylight in the Northern Hemisphere will gradually grow shorter until the winter solstice, which occurs on December 21, 2014. The opposite occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, where daylight will now grow longer.

Top ten rainiest cities in India on Sunday

Rain in CherrapunjiAfter recording 174.7 mm of heavy rain, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya topped the list of rainiest cities in India on Sunday. According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the town has received 716.7 mm of rainfall against the monthly normal of 1034.8 mm till September 21. Cherrapunji is also famous for receiving the highest rainfall in the world.

With the onset of withdrawal of Southwest monsoon, the rainfall has started to decrease across the country. As per the Skymet forecast, the rain activity will now only be confined to northeast and southern region of the country. Here’s a look at our list of top ten Rainiest cities in India on Sunday:

Cities State Rainfall (in millimeters)
Cherrapunji Meghalaya 174.7
Digha West Bengal 153.7
Baharampur West Bengal 146
Asansol West Bengal 110.7
Jalpaiguri West Bengal 93.8
Shillong Meghalaya 78.8
Phulbani Odisha 76
Paradip Odisha 66.1
Raipur Chhattisgarh 64.1
Krishnanagar West Bengal 62.2

 

Hurricane Polo shows sign of weakening

Hurricane PoloAfter reaching the status of a hurricane from a tropical storm on September 17, Polo has been encountering a bit of wind shear since then. According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, Polo will continue to weaken further, as it is in an area of increased wind shear and is moving into a drier air mass.

Polo will also be moving over cooler waters, which is caused by upwelling from Odile. Upwelling is a process where the water at the surface moves away from the center of the hurricane and cold water from below the surface is drawn upwards to fill the void.  Polo was formed on Tuesday, several hundred miles south-southeast of Acapulco, Mexico. It became the season's eleventh hurricane on Wednesday.

At present, Polo has again moved back to tropical storm status and is moving towards the northwest. The center of Polo's circulation will remain offshore but rain bands may affect the southern Baja California peninsula, producing gusty winds and heavy rain. Tropical storm force winds will extend outward up to 80 miles from the center of Polo's circulation. Hurricane Polo is likely to induce rainfall amounts of 30 mm to 50 mm, with isolated amounts of 100 mm to 150 mm over extreme southern Baja. Such additional heavy rainfall could result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.

 

 

Rains confined to East and South India

Weather in IndiaPrevailing weather conditions in the country have been indicating the commencement of withdrawal of the Southwest Monsoon. According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the rainfall activity now has been confined to only Northeast and Southern region of the country, while the Northwest and Central region has been witnessing a dry spell.  Let us have a look at the weather forecast over different regions of the country in next 48 hours.

Northeast region: According to Skymet, the region will continue to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall for next 48 hours over Sub Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya. Moving on to East India, areas such as Bihar, Jharkhand, and Gangetic West Bengal are also expected to receive good showers in next 24 hours. However, rainfall intensity and spread is expected to reduce gradually over the period.  As on September 21, the region observes a deficit of 15% and it is quite unlikely that there would be any substantial recovery. This monsoon season, the region observed below normal rainfall, both in pre-monsoon and Southwest Monsoon season, albeit with few exceptions. It did not even witness any major episode of flooding like it does every monsoon season.

Central Region: Isolated rain is expected over areas of south Madhya Pradesh and Madhya Maharashtra. Most of the stations have been observing a dry spell and will continue to witness similar weather conditions.  As the withdrawal season commences, the winds are blowing from west and northwest direction in most parts of Central India. According to Skymet, days will continue to be sunny but mornings and nights will become comfortable in the coming days.

Southern Region: South India has received the best rainfall so far, compared to other regions of the country. At present, the region has been observing light rain over the past few days. However, according to Skymet, rainfal is expected to increase over southern peninsula, which includes Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Southern Andhra Pradesh during the next two to three days.  The prime reason behind the increase in rainfall over peninsular region is due to the turf that is running from south Andhra to Kerala across Tamil Nadu.

Northern region: According to Skymet, North and Northwest India will continue to experience dry weather and clear sky over the next 48 hours. Temperature is expected to remain stable, which is already on the higher side, making the daytime a little uneasy for people.  However, early morning and evening hours will be pleasant and comfortable. Meanwhile, the withdrawal of monsoon has begun from west Rajasthan. It has also retreated from Kutch, parts of Punjab and Haryana. Gradually monsoon will retreat from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, west Uttar Pradesh, east Rajasthan and Gujarat in next few days.

The rainy spell affects National rain deficiency marginally

The low pressure area over northwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal and Odisha­north Andhra Pradesh coast now lies as a well-marked low pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, north Coastal Andhra Pradesh and westcentral Bay of Bengal.

Remnants of Typhoon Kalmaegi will work in tandem with this system, which could be the last Monsoon system of this year. This has been bringing heavy showers over Nepal, north Bihar, Sub Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, along with the states of Northeast India. The system will track towards Jharkhand, Bihar and then re-curve towards Northeast India. Thereby, rain is likely to continue over East and Northeast India for at least next 48 hours.

Rain deficiency

In spate of this spell of rain, according to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, rainfall deficiency could come down to 11% in next two days. Further rains will not bring any significant change in the rainfall deficiency.

Rainfall in last 24 hours

In Bihar, Muzaffarpur received 92.8 mm of rain, Patna 92.6 mm, Supaul 86.1 mm and Purnea 22 mm.

In Assam, Barpeta received 93 mm of rain, Dhubri 26 mm, Jorhat 61 mm, Tezpur 29 mm of rain.

As rainfall decreases in East and Northeast India after the 23rd of September, a trough from Rayalaseema to south Kerala will increase rain over South India.

 

Flood threat looming large in Bihar

Flood stricken Bihar Bihar is one of the most flood-prone states of our country. Inhabitants of north Bihar lives under the recurring threat of flood devastation. Historical data holds that about 16.5% of the total flood affected area in India is located in Bihar. In the years 1978, 1987, 1998, 2004 and 2007 Bihar witnessed high magnitudes of flood.

Several places in Bihar, situated along the foothills of Himalayas generally face the flood fury due to heavy rains in Nepal.

The plains of Bihar and adjoining areas of Nepal are drained by a number of rivers, which have their catchments in the steep and geologically nascent Himalayas. Rivers like Kosi, Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla Balan, Mahananda originate in Nepal and usually drops down a lot of sediment load in the plains of Bihar.

The low pressure area over northwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal and Odisha, ­north Andhra Pradesh coast now lies as a well-marked low pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, north Coastal Andhra Pradesh and westcentral Bay of Bengal. This system has been bringing heavy showers over Nepal and north Bihar.

Heavy to very heavy rain in Nepal could lead to a sharp rise in the water level of Kosi River and its tributaries. Thereby, several districts of Bihar including Kishanganj, Madhubani, Sitamarhi and Motihari should prepare for floods.

According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, Sub Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, along with other states of Northeast India will also receive rain for at least next 48 hours.

Rainfall in last 24 hours

In Bihar, Muzaffarpur received 92.8 mm of rain, Patna 92.6 mm, Supaul 86.1 mm and Purnea 22 mm.

In Assam, Barpeta received 93 mm of rain, Dhubri 26 mm, Jorhat 61 mm, Tezpur 29 mm of rain.

 

Austin, Texas flooding leaves thousands without power, rain continues

A slowly moving patch of thunderstorms brought heavy rains and flash flooding around Austin in Texas, beginning early Thursday morning and continuing throughout the evening. As a result of the storms, multiple water rescues had to be made.

Numerous roads were closed overnight in the city of Austin as rainfall totals of more than 4 inches were reported in some spots.

Estimated rainfall in Austin

Camp Mabry in Austin reported 3.27 inches of rain in just two hours. A rain gauge near the Penny backer Bridge over Lake Austin recorded 5.99 inches of rain, including 3.60 inches within one hour on Thursday morning.

North of Austin in Georgetown, 6.10 inches of rain was reported. More than 50 low-water crossings have been closed.

The Lower Colorado River Authority opened three floodgates releasing water from Lake Austin into Lady Bird Lake. They also reported that Lake Travis rose six inches since midnight.

The threat of flash flooding continued through Friday morning due to upper-level disturbances moving through the area, coupled with tropical moisture. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain can be expected across the area and some spots could see up to 3 to 5 inches over the weekend. The ground is already saturated, so any additional rainfall could produce more flash flooding, as well as rapid rises in rivers, streams and creeks.

A flash flood warning has been issued for parts of Burnet and Williamson counties in Austin's northern suburbs as more slow-moving storms with heavy rain are expected to develop.

Columbia, South Carolina, Houston & Virginia beaches have also reported flash floods, while Hurricane Polo continues to drench Mexico.

Further flooding is expected over the week end as widespread tropical moisture will lead to additional heavy rain over New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.







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