What Cyclone Phailin did : Rainfall data goes from 'Scanty' to 'Excess' in Darjeeling in one day

The average rainfall for the month of October of sub Himalayan West Bengal (SHWB) and Sikkim as per IMetD is 154.2mm (source) and Oct 2013 began with an unusually dry period where the first 10days of the month saw 'scanty' rainfall resulting in a 67% deficiency (see top map).
The rainfall dumped by Very Severe Cyclone Phailin changed all this.
Darjeeling (185mm) and Kalimpong (141mm) received the entire months rainfall on 14/15Oct2013 when it rained non-stop for 24hrs and as per the lower map we now have an excess of 145% precipitation.
It has been bone dry since 15Oct2013.
Meanwhile, the gradual withdrawal of the South Westerly monsoon continues over the Indian sub-continent and it should be exiting our region today (19Oct2013), see below :-

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
District Darjeeling

STH stormwatch: Feeling Phailin in the Himalayas

 

STH has been following the development and movement of Cyclone Phailin since its inception near the  Andaman Islands on 08Oct2013. Having observed it make landfall in Odisha last evening and move inland, I have been tracking the cloud movement the entire day today and feel rather surprised that the cloud mass from the remnants of Phailin has moved over us in the Sub-Himalayan West Bengal (SHWB) and Sikkim.

In keeping with this movement Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall in our region.

Praful Rao

Kalimpong,

Dist Darjeeling

STH stormwatch (update) : Are we under rating Phailin?

Tropical Storm Risk venture a UK based organization has  categorized Phailin as a 'Super Cyclone' (see above); this seems to be more or less in keeping with the report of US Navy's JTWC (excerpt below), which pegs the wind speeds higher than IMetD forecasts :-

"WTIO31 PGTW 120900
MSGID/GENADMIN/JOINT TYPHOON WRNCEN PEARL HARBOR HI//
SUBJ/TROPICAL CYCLONE 02B (PHAILIN) WARNING NR 014//
RMKS/
1. TROPICAL CYCLONE 02B (PHAILIN) WARNING NR 014    
   01 ACTIVE TROPICAL CYCLONE IN NORTHIO
   MAX SUSTAINED WINDS BASED ON ONE-MINUTE AVERAGE
   WIND RADII VALID OVER OPEN WATER ONLY
    ---
   WARNING POSITION:
   120600Z --- NEAR 18.0N 85.8E
     MOVEMENT PAST SIX HOURS - 310 DEGREES AT 09 KTS
     POSITION ACCURATE TO WITHIN 020 NM
     POSITION BASED ON CENTER LOCATED BY SATELLITE
   PRESENT WIND DISTRIBUTION:
   MAX SUSTAINED WINDS - 130 KT, GUSTS 160 KT" 

   (130 KT = 240 kmph; 160 KT = 296 kmph) 

Meanwhile at approx 1600h IST, it has started raining in Kolkata which lies on the
periphery of the cyclone, at places moderately and at other places there is a steady 
drizzle. 
The IR image of Phailin at 1600h (IST) is placed below.

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling.

STH stormwatch(update) : Red message from IMD plus tracks etc Phailin (12Oct2013.2)

Frantic evacuation efforts are on in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha which are likely to be affected even as Phailin bears down on the eastern coast of the sub-continent; landfall is expected in 4hrs time.
STH in its "Stormwatch" program first reported on Phailin on 08Oct2013 and has been posting regular updates on it on this blog thereafter.

Technology has, like never before placed tools which give so much advance warning about an impending disaster and judging by the way the governments of AP and Odisha, the Centre, the media, and the many other players involved are going about it - perhaps we will be able to go thru the next 48 hours or so without much loss of life.

Praful Rao,

Kalimpong,

Dist Darjeeling

STH stormwatch (update): Red message from IMetD on Phailin (12Oct2013.1)

For update 3 on Phailin from Force 13 click on the link on video


Praful Rao
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling

STH stormwatch (update) : Very Severe Cyclone Phailin (11Oct2013.2)

For those interested in obtaining additional information on the storm, here are some links :-
a. IMetD Cyclone page - you can get the latest bulletin on Phailin as well as the track from IMD.
b. Regional Met Centre at Bhubaneswar.
c. US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) for tracks and updates on the storm.
d. Latest IR images from IMetD satellite Kalpana 1 (updated every 30mins but timing is in GMT).
e. Products from IMetD Doppler radar at Vizag. 
f.  Actual rainfall in Phailin affected areas from IMD weather stations here 
g. Odisha State Disaster Management Authority here
h. NDTVs live blog on Phailin.

Praful Rao
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling.

STH stormwatch (update): Very Severe Cyclone Phailin (11Oct2013)

Praful Rao

Kalimpong,

Dist Darjeeling.