Will Visakhapatnam be hit by another cyclone in this month?

Heavy rains lashed parts of the city once again as Vizag just seemed to be recovering from the impact of Cyclone Gulab. Last week, in spite of having various mechanisms to interpret the weather conditions, none could actually predict the movements of the cyclone. What started as steady drizzles, led to severe downpour causing the felling of trees, and eventually leading to indefinite power outages in the city. Now again with the cloudburst, will Visakhapatnam have to face the wrath of another cyclone this month?

With uncertainty surmounting the air, Yo! Vizag reached out to Vizag WeatherDude, who has kept Vizagites informed with his most accurate weather predictions on Twitter.  

Tracking cyclone patterns across years, 23-year-old Sai Kiran, aka Vizag WeatherDude, informs us that a cyclone may come about. “If one sees the timeline of previous cyclones that impacted the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa – Phailin, Titili and Hudhud, all have occurred during mid-October. Based on this, between 12 October, 2021 and 15 October, 2021, there may be a deep depression or a cyclonic impact in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh and south Orissa,” he told Yo! Vizag. Adding to this, Sai Kiran added that if at all a cyclone forms, this time it would be called Cyclone Jawad.  

Talking about the current rains in the city, Sai Kiran comments that there is a cyclonic circulation in Tamil Nadu that causes winds from the east and the seas. This has led to several interior pockets of Visakhapatnam having rains. He adds, “The city had no rains, only the Vizag agency area and Gopalapatnam had showers today. The following two days, Vizag will witness widespread rainfall”.

Cyclone Gulab

Cyclone Gulab was a rare occurrence. A one-of-a-kind phenomenon even the legends went wrong with. After forming in the Bay of Bengal, the cyclone, that was predicted to move across Kalingapatnam and Srikakulam, tilted towards Vizag, causing a significant impact in the city. After that, it weakened and moved to central India and crossed the Indian mainland. Over Vizag, and crossing the land, Cyclone Gulab reached Gujarat – Pakistan adjoining and redeveloped there as Cyclone Shaheen. With ferocious winds, this cyclone had a major landfall in Oman. 

The India Meteorological Department considers and names every development or redevelopment of cyclones. With this redevelopment, this cyclone will go down in history as one of the rarest cyclones to have two names; Gulab and Shaheen. This is also the cyclone in recent times to have two landfalls. 

While the odds are still an uncontrollable occurrence, here is how we can prepare from the learnings of past experiences. Read here the 10 basic precautions that one needs to take before and during a cyclone.