1st tropical cyclone to hit state since 1891?

As the India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed on Sunday that weather system in the Arabian Sea would intensify into a tropical cyclone, experts said it would be a rare event for Mumbai and Maharashtra coast in June.

As per IMD’S Cyclone E-atlas, a repository that tracks tropical cyclones and weather depressions over the north Indian Ocean since 1891, no weather system has turned into a cyclone and made landfall near Mumbai or along the Maharashtra coast during June.

“Only two depressions, in 1948 and 1980, have come close but never turned into a tropical cyclone during June, indicate records,” said Akshay Deoras, an independent meteorologist and PHD researcher at the University of Reading, UK.

“Stronger than usual winds and rain are expected at the coast of Maharashtra on June 2 evening and in the first half of June 3. As the warning period will be less, disaster preparedness in coastal areas is immediately advisable,” he added.

While IMD is yet to declare the landfall site for the cyclone, private weather forecasting agency Skymet said landfall is expected over north Maharashtra and south Gujarat border.

“It will be a cyclonic storm that will move rapidly over these regions leading to intense showers but the weather system will not intensify into a severe or extremely severe cyclone. South Gujarat and north Konkan, including Mumbai, will get maximum rain on June 3,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet, adding that rain over the city can cause localised flooding.