After Hudhud Cyclone lashed the country this month, Another Cyclone Nilofar may hit to India by Thursday. Met department has warned of yet another storm which has been named Cyclone Nilofar. The cyclone is at least two days away from landfall over northwest Gujarat and adjoining Karachi in Pakistan.
Weathermen have issued a pre-cyclone watch for north Gujarat as Cyclone Nilofar took birth in the west-central and adjoining southwest Arabian Sea. On Sunday afternoon, Nilofar was located 1,270 km west-southwest of Mumbai.
Landfall timeline
It was at least two days away from landfall over northwest Gujarat and adjoining Karachi in Pakistan, according to international models.
Nilofar (a name contributed by Pakistan) would intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm, but not as strong as predecessor Hudhud that rammed the coast of Visakhapatnam earlier this month.
India Met expects Nilofar to pack peak winds reaching speeds of 120- to 130 km/hr gusting to 145 km/hr.
In contrast, Hudhud had featured ferocious winds topping 175 km/her and gusting to 200 km/hr.
The landfall is expected to take place by Thursday/Friday, according to initial projections.
In its outlook, the US Naval Observatory too had said that the cyclone may not ratchet up to the strength originally estimated, and could feature peak wind speeds of 138 km/hr.