Category: Storms


Paul Hellstern / The Oklahoman, NewsOk.com

Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in Oklahoma City, Okla., May 20, near SW 149th and Hudson.

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Steve Gooch / AP

This aerial photo shows the remains of houses in Moore, Okla., following a tornado Monday, May 20.

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Sue Ogrocki / AP

A child is pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., and passed along to rescuers Monday, May 20, 2013. A tornado as much as a mile wide with winds up to 200 mph roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school.

Additional photos here

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An enormous tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs, killing at least 51 people, including 20 children Monday. The twister pulverized entire city blocks, left behind miles of mangled cars and splintered wood, and destroyed an elementary school where seven children were found dead.

Crews frantically searched the wreckage and were only beginning to get a sense of the destruction when night fell hours later. Officials warned the death toll could climb. At one hospital, 85 patients, including 65 children, were being treated for minor to critical injuries.

“The whole city looks like a debris field,” said Mayor Glenn Lewis of the city of Moore, which appeared to be the hardest hit.

At least seven of the dead children were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School, where the tornado tore the roof off the school about 3 p.m. A teacher told NBC affiliate KFOR that she draped herself on top of six children in a bathroom to shelter them. Officials said the dead children drowned in a pool of water at the decimated school.

It was not clear how many children still were missing. Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grade were evacuated to a church, but students in lower grades had sheltered in place, KFOR reported. More than two hours after the tornado struck, several children were pulled out alive.

NBC’s Brian Williams and NBC’s Al Roker report on the aftermath of a tornado, which is believed to have been up to a mile wide, and left a huge path of destruction as it cut across Moore, Oklahoma.

The twister was a mile wide at its base, according to The Weather Channel, and a reporter for KFOR said the tornado kicked up a cloud of debris perhaps two miles wide. The National Weather Service initially classified the storm as an EF4, the second-strongest type, with winds of 166 to 200 mph.

“It seems that our worst fears have happened today,” said Bill Bunting, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman, Okla.

Even before the death toll began to climb, television footage showed a landscape shattered — not the arbitrary damage of a tornado that leaves some homes untouched, but vast and utter obliteration.

Emergency workers stepped gingerly around piles of wreckage left on the foundations of homes. Other people simply walked around dazed, marveling that nothing was left of their houses — and in many cases that they themselves were alive. Fires broke out in several places.

“I lost everything,” one man said as he walked through the ruins of a horse farm. “We might have one horse left out of all of them.”

Tiffany Thronesberry told The Associated Press that her mother, Barbara Jarrell, called her and screamed: “Help! Help! I can’t breathe! My house is on top of me!”

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Tornadoes hit Plains, Midwest; 1 dead in Okla.

A tornado that hit Oklahoma late Sunday did heavy damage to the town of Shawnee. Reports of injuries could not immediately be confirmed. (May 19)

Katharine Lackey and William M. Welch, USA TODAY1:24 a.m. EDT May 20, 2013

The severe storms are expected to linger into the beginning of the workweek.

Severe storms roared through the Plains and Midwest on Sunday, spawning tornadoes that damaged buildings, ripped off roofs and tossed big trucks like toys in Oklahoma. At least one person has died and several people were injured across the state, officials said.

Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth said a tornado that severely damaged a mobile home park in Oklahoma killed a 79-year-old man whose body was found in an open area of the neighborhood.

Booth also said that six people who lived in the mobile home park outside Oklahoma City were injured. Between 30 and 35 homes had significant damage, and number of frame homes in the neighborhood also sustained damage.

Separately, Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, told the Associated Press earlier that 21 people were injured across Oklahoma, not including those who suffered bumps and bruises and chose not to visit a hospital.

The storms were part of a severe weather outbreak that stretched from Texas to Minnesota. Twisters were also reported Sunday in Iowa and Kansas.

Interstate 40 was closed by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol after winds overturned semi-tractor trailer trucks and other vehicles, Newsok.com reported.

KFOR-TV showed footage of homes damaged and cars and trucks flipped from highways near Shawnee, Okla. Other video showed flashes from electrical transformers blowing out as they were hit by high winds or debris from the tornado near Edmond.

Sedgwick County, Kan., emergency management director Randy Duncan says officials are grateful for few reports of damage from a tornado that touched down near Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. He told CNN the area emerged “relatively unscathed.”

Tornado watches were posted from Oklahoma to southern Minnesota. Forecasters had been warning for days that severe storms were likely across the region.

“I knew it was coming,” said Randy Grau, who huddled with his wife and two young boys in their Edmond’s home when the tornado hit. He said he peered out his window as the weather worsened and believed he saw a flock of birds heading down the street. “Then I realized it was swirling debris.”

 

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WATCHING THE WORLD EVOLVE AND TRANSFORM

Tropical Cyclone Mahasen fully dissipated after weakening into tropical storm on May 16, 2013. Luckily, its impact was far less damaging than initially expected. Mahasen veered west of its predicted path after dumping heavy rains over bay of Bengal coastal areas.

Mahasen hit land with maximum wind speeds of about 100 km/h (62 mph) and quickly weakened. There was no major tidal surge due the low tide in time of Mahasen’s landfall. However, many low-lying areas and islands were inundated by a surge during the storm. More than 49,000 thatched houses were destroyed.

The cyclone spared major populated areas in Bangladesh, including Chittagong and the seaside resort of Cox’s Bazar. By the time Mahasen hit Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, wind speeds had plunged to 25 km/h (16 mph).

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image the day that Mahasen came ashore. Clouds stretched across Bangladesh, northeastern India, and northwestern Burma.

The TRMM satellite had two very informative views as deadly tropical Cyclone Mahasen was moving toward and then over Bangladesh. TRMM passed above Mahasen on May 15, 2013 at 2133 UTC and saw Mahasen again on May 16, 2013 at 0406 UTC after the tropical cyclone’s center passed over Bengladesh’s Ganges Delta.

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WATCHING THE WORLD EVOLVE AND TRANSFORM

Alvin had strengthened to a Tropical Storm on May 15, 2013 and now has weakened and is considered a Post-Tropical Cyclone. With the excessive wind shear and cooler water, the storm has dissipated into just a weak low pressure.

According to Tropical Weather Outlook by US National Hurricane Center, an area of low pressure associated with the remnants of Alvin is located about 800 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. The system continues to produce a large area of disorganized shower and thunderstorm activity.

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Earth Watch Report  -  Storms

Tropical Storm ALVIN NHC 5-Day Cone Tropical Storm 01E (ALVIN) JTWC ATCF Track
Tropical Storm
ALVIN
NHC 5-Day Cone
Tropical Storm
01E (ALVIN)
JTWC ATCF Track

Active tropical storm system(s)
Alvin (01E) Pacific Ocean – East 14.05.2013 16.05.2013 Tropical Depression 290 ° 74 km/h 93 km/h 3.05 m NOAA NHC Details
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details

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Tropical Storm data

Storm name: Alvin (01E)
Area: Pacific Ocean – East
Start up location: N 8° 12.000, W 103° 36.000
Start up: 15th May 2013
Status: Active
Track long: 166.53 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
16th May 2013 04:45:41 N 9° 0.000, W 105° 54.000 19 74 93 Tropical Depression 290 ° 10 1004 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
17th May 2013 00:00:00 N 9° 30.000, W 108° 54.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC
17th May 2013 12:00:00 N 10° 0.000, W 110° 24.000 Hurricane I 120 148 NOAA NHC
18th May 2013 12:00:00 N 11° 30.000, W 113° 0.000 Hurricane II 130 157 NOAA NHC
19th May 2013 12:00:00 N 13° 0.000, W 115° 30.000 Hurricane I 120 148 NOAA NHC
20th May 2013 12:00:00 N 15° 30.000, W 117° 0.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC

 

Tropical Storm Alvin strengthens in eastern Pacific

By Ed Payne and Greg Botelho, CNN
updated 12:46 AM EDT, Thu May 16, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Tropical Storm Alvin is centered about 700 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico
  • It’s the first named storm of Eastern Pacific season, which opened Wednesday
  • It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph
  • Alvin should strengthen and “is expected become a hurricane,” the hurricane center reports

(CNN) — The hurricane season opened Wednesday with a flourish, and more specifically, with the debut of its first named storm, Tropical Storm Alvin.

Tropical Depression 1-E was upgraded and named a tropical storm Wednesday, which happens to be the first day of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts on June 1, and both seasons end November 30.

Read More Here

Earth Watch Report  -   Storms

A child sleeps inside a shelter house before cyclone Mahasen approaches in Chittagong May 16, 2013. REUTERS-Andrew Biraj

4 of 12. A child sleeps inside a shelter house before cyclone Mahasen approaches in Chittagong May 16, 2013.
Credit: REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

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15.05.2013 Tropical Storm Sri Lanka Eastern Province, [Coastal regions] Damage level
Details

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Tropical Storm in Sri Lanka on Wednesday, 15 May, 2013 at 15:51 (03:51 PM) UTC.

 

Description
A cyclone caused by a tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal killed at least seven people in Sri Lanka, government officials said on Tuesday. Cyclone Mahasen, which brought heavy rains and landslides to Sri Lanka, was expected to hit Bangladesh and Burma later this week. “Seven people have died and 10 people have got injured. There are 7,399 people from 1,947 families affected,” Lal Sarath Kumara, the spokesman at Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Center said. The Center said 3,881 people had been displaced due to the cyclone. Three people were missing due to heavy rains and landslides. Officials at Sri Lanka’s Department of Meteorology have said the center of Cyclone Mahasen is located 900 km off the island nation’s eastern coastal town of Pottuvil.

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Cyclone Mahasen buffets Bangladesh coast, six dead

 

 

 

 

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh | Thu May 16, 2013 7:48am EDT

(Reuters) – Cyclone Mahasen buffeted Bangladesh’s low-lying coast on Thursday, killing six people after forcing many thousands into emergency shelters, but authorities downgraded warnings later in the day as the storm lost strength.

A storm surge did cause some flooding along the coast at high tide and thousands of rickety huts were destroyed by torrential rain and wind, but the devastation was not as bad as had been feared.

Neighboring Myanmar, where there were fears for the safety of many thousands of internally displaced people living in camps, also appeared to have been largely spared.

The storm was moving northeast, into northeastern India, as it lost strength, meteorological officials said.

“It has now crossed over coastal areas and is a land depression over Bangladesh and adjoining areas of India and will gradually weaken further,” Mohammad Shah Alam, the director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Reuters.

Earlier, winds of up to 100 kph (60 mph) lashed the coast, whipping up big waves as the United Nations warned that 4.1 million people could be threatened.

A Bangladeshi army official at an control center set up to help with relief work said six people had been killed.

Some media said the death toll was nine, with some of them killed by falling trees.

About 50 people were injured, according to media reports.

Bangladesh, where storms have in the past killed many thousands of people, has more than 1,400 cyclone-proof buildings and many people moved into them as Mahasen approached.

 

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THE WATCHERS

WATCHING THE WORLD EVOLVE AND TRANSFORM

Tropical Cyclone Mahasen (01B) is now centered several hundred miles south of Kolkata, India, and will impact areas from northeastern India to Bangladesh and Myanmar over the next few days. The system is about to enter  into an area of warm sea surface temperatures and lower wind shear which will intensified the cyclone and give it opportunity to become even better organized. Landfall is expected to occur on May 16, 2013 with most forecast models putting the path between Chittagong (Bangladesh) and Maungdaw (Myanmar).

On May 13, 2013 the Suomi NPP satellite caught an interesting glimpse of the storm as it moved off the eastern coast of India. The VIIRS Day-Night Band was able to resolve lightning flashes towards the center of the storm, along with mesopheric gravity waves emanating outwards like ripples in a pond. These gravity waves are of particular interest to air traffic controllers so assist in identifying areas of turbulence. (Credit: NOAA/NASA/VIIRS)

TC Mahasen will bring life-threatening conditions to millions of people from northeastern India and into Bangladesh and Myanmar. Due the low elevations of this region (mostly shallower than 200 meters), flooding, mudslides and storm surge present the greatest threats. These areas have been hit by some of the deadliest cyclones across the globe.

According to GDACS, up to 22.3 million people people can be affected by wind speeds of tropical storm strength or above. In addition, 4.1 million people people are living in coastal areas below 5m and can therefore be affected by storm surge.

The highest impact, surge and rainfall predictions are for the Chittagong and Cox’s Bazaar areas of Bangladesh but there are serious concerns for Rakhine State where there are more than 140,000 IDPs. (Credit: OCHA/ReliefWeb)

Torrential rains caused floods and landslides across Sri Lanka, which are responsible for seven reported deaths. Several overcrowded boats carrying hundreds of evacuees capsized off the coast of western Myanmar after the lead boat crashed into rocks and more than 50 people are feared dead. Myanmar state television reported Monday that 5,158 people were relocated from low-lying camps in Rakhine state to safer shelters. But far more people are considered vulnerable.

Bathymetry of the Bay of Bengal (Credit: Geomap/MGDS)

Storm surge prediction model (Credit: IMD)

According to latest report by Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), TC Mahasen is located approximately 246 nm southward of Calcutta, India. The system is moving north-northeastward at speed of 12 knots. Upper level analysis indicates an anticyclone to the east of the system continues to move into better vertical alignment with the low level circulation center, leading to a decrease in vertical wind shear to low levels (10 knots).

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Rohingya women reinforce their tents at the Ohnedaw Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp on the outskirts of Sittwe on May 15, 2013, as Cyclone Mahasen heads towards landfall. Hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh and Myanmar were ordered to evacuate Wednesday as a cyclone bore down on coastal areas home to flood-prone refugee camps for victims of sectarian unrest. Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images

Bangladeshi marine sailors stand on the banks of the Bay of Bengal sea, as they prepare for the coming of tropical cyclone Mahasen, in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. People living in coastal areas in Bangladesh and Myanmar are being evacuated as cyclone Mahasen appears to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday, according to news reports. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)

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Tropical Storm in Bangladesh on Thursday, 16 May, 2013 at 08:40 (08:40 AM) UTC.

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Updated: Thursday, 16 May, 2013 at 11:38 UTC
Description
Cyclone Mahasen has struck the southern coast of Bangladesh, lashing remote fishing villages with heavy rain and fierce winds that flattened mud and straw huts and forced the evacuation of more than 1 million people. The main section of the storm reached land on Thursday and immediately began weakening, according to Mohammad Shah Alam, director of the Bangladesh meteorological department. However, its forward movement was also slowing, meaning that towns in its path would have to weather the storm for longer, he said. Even before the brunt of the storm hit, at least 18 deaths related to Mahasen were reported in Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka. The storm could bring life-threatening conditions to about 8.2 million people in Bangladesh, Burma and north-east India, according to the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Danger was particularly high for tens of thousands of displaced Rohingya people living in plastic-roofed tents and huts made of reeds in dozens of refugee camps along Burma’s western coast.

Driven from their homes by violence, members of the Muslim minority group refused to follow evacuation orders. Many distrust officials in the majority-Buddhist country, where Rohingya have faced decades of discrimination. UN officials, hoping they would inspire greater trust, fanned out across the area to encourage people to leave. Early on Thursday, the cyclone battered the southern Bangladesh fishing village of Khepurpara along the Bay of Bengal with 62mph (100km/h) winds and was heading east toward the city of Chittagong and the seafront resort town of Cox’s Bazar. River ferries and boat services were suspended, and scores of factories near the Bay of Bengal were closed. The military said it was keeping 22 navy ships and 19 air force helicopters on alert. Tens of thousands of people fled their shanty homes along the coast and packed into cyclone shelters, schools, government office buildings and some of the 300 hotels in Cox’s Bazar to wait out the storm. Some brought their livestock, which took shelter outside.

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Tornado.jpgDamage near Gransbury, Texas, after a severe storm and possible tornado hit earlier tonight. (Twitter/@StormCoker)

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Officials: ‘Multiple fatalities’ in Texas tornado

By JOHN L. MONE and TERRY WALLACE
Associated Press /  May 15, 2013

GRANBURY, Texas (AP) — A tornado ripped through a picturesque lakeside North Texas town on Wednesday, resulting in multiple fatalities and destroying or damaging homes, authorities said.

The tornado ripped through the Brazos River courthouse town of Granbury about 8 p.m. as part of a outbreak of severe weather that plagued the region Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Hardest hit were two neighborhoods, Rancho Brazos Estates and DeCordova Ranch, in the southern end of the town of about 8,000 residents about 65 miles southwest of Dallas, said Hood County sheriff’s Lt. Kathy Jiveden.

There were multiple fatalities, she said, but she had no estimate of dead or injured or the number of homes destroyed.

Officers ‘‘are going house to house’’ looking for residents trapped, injured or dead in the rubble of demolished homes near Lake Granbury, Jiveden said.

Rancho Brazos Estates resident Allacia Jenny said she witnessed devastation in her neighborhood.

‘‘The house across from mine looked like it was destroyed,’’ said Jenny, 22.

Toppled large trees litter her yard, and ‘‘I saw power lines all over the place,’’ she said.

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Official says multiple fatalities in Texas tornado

Tornado 2.jpgAn image of the tornado 8 miles west of Weatherford, Texas, taken by Grant Johnston of NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. (Twitter/@GrantJNBC5)

By Mark Heim | mheim@al.com

Several people were killed and 10 were injured Wednesday night when a possible tornado hit Granbury, Texas, city officials told CNN.

Kathy Jividen, a spokeswoman for the Hood County, Texas, sheriff’s office said there were “multiple fatalities” in the wake of the storm.

Hood County Commissioner Steve Berry told The Weather Channel a little after 10 p.m. that there are two confirmed deaths, at least 16 injured and multiple structures collapsed.

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Earth Watch Report  -  Storms

 

Tropical Cyclone 01B (ONE) JTWC ATCF Track

Tropical Cyclone
01B (MAHASEN)
JTWC ATCF Track

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 Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
Mahasen (01B) Indian Ocean 09.05.2013 13.05.2013 Tropical Depression 310 ° 93 km/h 120 km/h 6.40 m JTWC Details

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Tropical Storm data

Storm name: Mahasen (01B)
Area: Indian Ocean
Start up location: N 4° 48.000, E 93° 36.000
Start up: 10th May 2013
Status: Active
Track long: 660.36 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
11th May 2013 05:24:03 N 7° 0.000, E 91° 0.000 24 74 93 Tropical Storm 315 12 JTWC
13th May 2013 05:22:18 N 11° 30.000, E 86° 42.000 15 93 120 Tropical Storm 355 18 JTWC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
13th May 2013 16:11:52 N 12° 24.000, E 85° 42.000 17 93 120 Cyclone I 310 ° 21 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
15th May 2013 12:00:00 N 17° 24.000, E 87° 54.000 Cyclone I 120 148 JTWC
15th May 2013 00:00:00 N 16° 6.000, E 86° 54.000 Cyclone I 111 139 JTWC
16th May 2013 12:00:00 N 20° 0.000, E 90° 0.000 Cyclone II 130 157 JTWC
17th May 2013 12:00:00 N 23° 0.000, E 92° 54.000 Cyclone I 93 120 JTWC
18th May 2013 12:00:00 N 26° 0.000, E 99° 54.000 Tropical Depression 56 74 JTWC

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Storm Mahasen targets Bangladesh, Myanmar

Agence France-Presse
Posted on 05/14/2013 7:35 AM  | Updated 05/14/2013 7:35 AM

GIANT STORM. NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this visible image of a well-rounded Tropical Cyclone Mahasen in the Northern Indian Ocean on May 15 at 07:55 UTC (3:55 a.m. EDT). Mahasen is northeast of Sri Lanka and moving northward. NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response TeamGIANT STORM. NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this visible image of a well-rounded Tropical Cyclone Mahasen in the Northern Indian Ocean on May 15 at 07:55 UTC (3:55 a.m. EDT). Mahasen is northeast of Sri Lanka and moving northward. NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response TeamCHITTAGONG, Bangladesh – Bangladesh warned millions of people Monday, May 13, that a cyclone could barrel into their coastal homes later this week as authorities in Myanmar began moving potential victims to higher ground.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that while it was too soon to predict where cyclonic storm Mahasen would hit, it raised its alert to four, meaning “there are increased chances that the cyclone will hit the coast”.

The department’s deputy head Shamsuddin Ahmed said Mahasen was currently in the Bay of Bengal, 1,355 kilometers (840 miles) south west of Chittagong, and could make landfall in the southeast of the country on Thursday.

“Mahasen is still a cyclonic storm. It has not gathered enough strength to become a severe cyclone. But it is likely to intensify further,” he told AFP.

The government has made preparations for the cyclone, but will wait until it has firmer information as to where it would make landfall before issuing any evacuation order, Chittagong provincial administrator Muhammad Abdullah said.

“We’ve alerted the people living in coastal areas, but have not evacuated any of them because we still don’t know where the cyclone will hit. But we’re fully prepared to face any situation,” he told AFP.

He said authorities have set up logistics support and kept cyclone preparedness volunteers, doctors and officials ready for the cyclone.

Around 30 million of Bangladesh’s population of 153 million live along the coast, and Chittagong is the country’s second largest city.

Monday’s warning from Bangladesh echoed a similar alert from Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology at the weekend.

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Tropical Cyclone Mahasen (Northern Indian Ocean)
05.13.13

MODIS image of Tropical Cyclone Mahasen

› Larger image


NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this visible image of a well-rounded Tropical Cyclone Mahasen in the Northern Indian Ocean on May 15 at 07:55 UTC (3:55 a.m. EDT). Mahasen is northeast of Sri Lanka and moving northward. Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
NASA Sees a Strengthening Tropical Cyclone Mahasen

The first tropical cyclone in the Northern Indian Ocean this season has been getting better organized as seen in NASA satellite imagery. Tropical Cyclone Mahasen is projected to track north through the Bay of Bengal and make landfall later this week.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Mahasen in the Northern Indian Ocean on May 15 at 07:55 UTC (3:55 a.m. EDT). The image was created by NASA’s MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and showed Mahasen had consolidated over the last two days. Mahasen appeared rounded and its strongest thunderstorms appeared to be surrounding the center of circulation. The center also appears to be topped with a large dense overcast. The image showed Mahasen’s center was northeast of Sri Lanka, although a band of strong thunderstorms south of the storm’s center were affecting the island nation at the time of the image.

 

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Tropical Cyclone Mahasen targets India, Bangladesh, Myanmar

Tropical Cyclone Mahasen (TC 01B) is getting better organized. Winds are predicted to increase to hurricane force as the system moves further northward into the Bay of Bengal. TC Mahasen is now located east-nort​heast of Sri Lanka and is expected to impact areas from northeast India to Bangladesh and Myanmar.

According to latest report by Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), TC Mahasen is located approximately 721 nm southward of Calcutta, India. The system is moving north-northwestward at speed of 6 knots. Maximum sustainable winds are 55 knots with gusts up to 70 knots.

Indian Ocean IR satellite image of the system on May 12, 2013 (Credit: METEOSAT-7/CIMSS)

The cyclone is beginning to round the western edge of the subtropical ridge to the east. It is expected to slow down over the next 24 hours as it makes the turn before recurving northeastward on the poleward side of the ridge axis. TC Mahasen will gradually intensify as the vertical wind shear relaxes along the ridge axis. Additionally, the poleward outflow is expected to open up as the system becomes exposed to the prevailing westerlies.

Animated infrared satellite imagery shows the system has regained a central dense overcast feature that has, once again, obscured the low level circulation center. Upper level analysis indicates the system is 7 degrees south of the ridge axis in an area of moderate (20 knot) easterly vertical wind shear. However, the vertical wind shear is offset by robust westward outflow.

After the next 72 hours, TC Mahasen will gradually weaken as vertical wind shear increases before making landfall near Chittagong, Bangladesh. Land interaction will rapidly erode and dissipate the system.

​TC Mahasen forecast track (Source: JTWC)

According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), under the influence of this system, rainfall at many places with isolated heavy rainfall would occur over Andaman and Nicobar Islands during next 48 hours. Squally winds speed reaching 40-45 km/h gusting to 60 km/h would prevail along Andaman and Nicobar Islands during next 48 hours. Sea condition will be rough to very rough along and off Andaman and Nicobar Islands during this period.

 

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