Cyclone Fengal may make amends for severe cyclone Dana

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is maintaining a continuous watch for movement and intensification of a deep depression over south-west Bay of Bengal. It expects the system to ramp up as cyclone Fengal, the second storm after severe cyclone Dana more than a month ago. 

But Dana chose to deceive the Tamil Nadu coast as it ran away east-northeast to Odisha and West Bengal, taking the bulk of the rainfall with it. Projected Fengal promises to make amends, with coastal Tamil Nau having already been brought under a spell of heavy to very heavy rain. 

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The IMD located the deep depression over the south-west Bay about 130 km east-southeast of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka; 400 km south-east of Nagapattinam; 510 km south-east of Puducherry; and 590 km south-southeast of Chennai. It is increasingly moving away from Sri Lanka coast while inching closer to the south Tamil Nadu coast.

The IMD said the system will intensify further into a cyclone during next 12 hours (by Wednesday evening). Thereafter, it will track towards Tamil Nadu coast during the next two days while skirting Sri Lanka coast altogether.