Tej is expected to weaken to a cyclonic storm on October 24 at 5:30 am
Photo: windy.com The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Tej’ over the Arabian Sea is likely to cross the Yemen coast close to Al-Ghaidah in the early hours of October 24, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Tej, which was an extremely severe cyclonic storm at 5.30 am earlier today, weakened into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm over the west-central Arabian Sea at 8.30 am.
It is about 230 kilometres north-northwest of Socotra (Yemen), 280 km south-southwest of Salalah (Oman) and 200 km south-southeast of Al Ghaidah (Yemen).
“Tej can make landfall near the Oman or Yemen border on October 24. It would be the first landfall in the area since 2018,” Jason Nicholls, the Lead International Forecaster Meteorologist at AccuWeather, a US-based company that provides local and international weather forecasts, wrote on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter).
Vineet Kumar Singh, a research scientist at Jeju National University, South Korea, noted on X that Tej has become the fourth strongest post-monsoon season cyclone in the Arabian Sea.
The top five strongest cyclones in this season are Kyarr (135 knots, unit of speed), Chapala (130 knots), Nilofar (115 knots), Megh and Tej (110 knots) and Maha (105 knots), he explained.
Cyclone Tej, he added, is only the seventh Category 3+ cyclone in the post-monsoon season in the Arabian Sea since 1980 as per the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre. All seven cyclones of this intensity formed only after 2013.
Category 3 cyclones, which have wind speeds of 96-112 knots, can cause devastating damage, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Tej is further expected to weaken to a cyclonic storm on October 24 at 5:30 am. The wind speeds, according to IMD, will be 80-90 kmph gusting to 100.
It may form a depression at 5.30 pm on October 24, before weakening to a well-marked low-pressure area on the next day.
The Southwest Arabian Sea is experiencing very rough to rough sea conditions, while the west-central Arabian Sea is seeing phenomenal sea conditions and is likely to continue till the night of October 23, the IMD said.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, as visualised by Windy, showed that Tej is inching closer to the Oman-Yemen border, with wind speeds of 91 km / hour.
In the early hours of October 24, it is likely to make landfall in Yemen. The region near the landfall is expected to see 134 millimetres of rainfall. Oman may also witness heavy thunder with 40 mm of rainfall.
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