Cyclone ‘Maha' updates: Storm 250 kms from Porbandar, likely to weaken further

New Delhi, Nov 06: Cyclone Maha, which is expected to make landfall in Gujarat on Thursday, is 250 kms from Gujarat's Porbandar. The Cyclone is expected to cause widespread rainfall in Gujarat and other parts of Inia's Western Coast, but its intensity has significantly lessened than predicted previously.

IMD's latest prediction says that Cyclone Maha will skirt the coast of Gujarat and lie around 40 kms below Diu by noon Thursday. The IMD has predicted that Maha will have weakened to a deep depression by then and that it will become a depression by evening.

Maha is expected to cross between Diu and Porbandar as a cyclonic storm. Maha developed near southeastern India during the middle of last week. The storm slowly moved in a northwest direction strengthening further. On Monday, it became an extremely severe cyclonic storm, but by Wednesday, it weakened to a severe cyclonic storm, according to Accuweather.

The latest update says that the cyclonic storm 'Maha' is about 250 km southwest of Porbandar, 250 km west-southwest of Veraval and 290 km west-southwest of Diu.
"It is very likely to move east-northeastwards, weaken further into a deep depression by tomorrow morning," reports quoted IMD as saying.

Gujarat and Saurashtra region will witness heavy to very heavy rainfall.

During the last week of October, two cyclonic storms were brewing together in the Arabian Sea which is a rare occurrence. While the deep depression in the Arabian Sea intensified into cyclonic storm 'Maha', the other one,'Kyarr, had turned into a super cyclone. Two storms in the Arabian Sea at the same time is said to be a rare occurrence.