Cyclone Ditwah formed on November 27 over the southwest Bay of Bengal near Sri Lanka.
It is expected to travel towards Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and southern Andhra Pradesh by November 30.
IMD warns of possible rapid intensification, with wind speeds up to 100 km / h.
Cyclone Ditwah formed on November 27, 2025, becoming the fourth tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean region for the current season.
The storm system that is currently over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lankan coast intensified quickly from a deep depression to a cyclone because of favourable factors in its path. Its track may be along the Tamil Nadu coast, bringing rainfall to the coastal areas of the state.
According to the latest tropical weather outlook from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the depression intensified into a deep depression in the early morning hours of November 27 and lay over southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lankan coast. By 11:30 am, the deep depression strengthened into a cyclone, already showing signs of rapid intensification.
IMD predicted that the storm is very likely to move in a north-northwestwards direction across the Sri Lankan coast and the adjoining Southwest Bay of Bengal. After that, Cyclone Ditwah could keep moving in the same direction towards the coasts of north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and southern Andhra Pradesh by November 30.
The weather agency expected the cyclone’s peak wind speeds to be in the range of 80-90 kilometres per hour, with wind gusts of up to 100 km / hr since the morning of November 29.
A tropical cyclone is said to have undergone rapid intensification if it gains wind speeds in excess of 55 km / hr within a 24 hour period. In a warming world, this characteristic has become common for all tropical cyclones but is not well represented in existing weather models. Thus, it could catch meteorologists by surprise, as happened in the case of Cyclone Senyar on November 26. The surprise could also translate into not enough early warning for the people in the path of the cyclone.
“There is a good possibility for Cyclone Ditwah to intensify rapidly,” Ajith Kumar from Chennai, who runs the ‘Chennai Weatherman’ account on X (formerly Twitter), told Down To Earth (DTE).
Various factors can aid with this rapid intensification, according to Kumar. “First of them is the anomalously warm waters near the Tamil Nadu coast. The tropical cyclone heat potential (TCPH) looks good near the coast where the system is expected to move. TCPH measures the thermal energy available in the upper layers of the ocean / sea to fuel a cyclone.”
”Moderate wind shear looks a bit concerning for now, but only real time data will work in this case. Forecasts keep it moderate. Another thing to notice is the strong westerly wind burst from the equator that will pump moisture into the system, keeping its Western Quadrant with rain-filled clouds,” Kumar told DTE.
Whether cyclone Ditwah rapidly intensifies or not, it is expected to bring heavy rainfall to the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and southern Andhra Pradesh, according to rainfall forecasts by both Global Forecasting System and European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts data as analysed and visualised on the Windy weather platform.