Monsoon greeted by cyclone Mahasen, ending with Phailin

With the weakening of the Cyclone Phailin and southeasterly winds, the withdrawal of southwest monsoon is expected to resume soon over north India. Northwesterly winds that are instrumental in bringing winter season India would also start with this.

Monsoon started with cyclone Mahasen

The southwesterly monsoon started this year with a cyclone named Mahasen. After developing as a low pressure area in the southeast Bay of Bengal in early May this year, the weather system gradually developed first as a depression on 10^th of May and then into a deep depression on 14^th of May. The weather system soon became a cyclone and moved in a northwest direction. Mahasen was about to affect coastal areas of West Bengal and Odisha but finally recurved to hit Chittagong in Bangladesh on 17^th of May. From Bangladesh the cyclone moved northeastward to affect northeast India thereafter.

During its movement in the Bay of Bengal Mahasen came very close to Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Both of these states received strong winds and heavy rain in the coastal areas.

End of monsoon witnesses cyclone Phailin

Similarly, cyclone Phailin that has been affecting east central and east India for the past few days is expected to be over in next 24 hours. This will help start the withdrawal of southwest monsoon 2013 from north India. The presence of southeasterly winds had denied the withdrawal till now.

Cyclone Phailin brought heavy to very heavy rain in the region but with the setting in of northwesterly winds over northwest plains and Indo-Gangetic plains, winter in India is about to start.