Visakhapatnam / Vijayawada: South coastal Andhra Pradesh is set to bear the brunt of Cyclone Vardah which is expected to make landfall between Ongole and Nellore at about midnight on Monday.
The Chief Minister’s office located the landfall point at Sriharikota. Cyclone Vardah has intensified into a supercyclone and lay about 710 km east-southeast of Nellore.
According to the Cyclone Warning Centre at Visakhapatnam, Cyclone Vardah will maintain its intensity till Sunday evening and gradually weaken before making landfall. High vertical wind shear and lower sea surface temperatures near the AP coast could weaken the cyclone.
Weather officials were tracking the progress of the cyclone to see if it would change course. “The system could cross the AP coast as a cyclonic storm on Monday evening. Within a day of making landfall, it may weaken into a low pressure,” an official at the centre said.
Heavy rains may lash a few places of coastal Andhra Pradesh starting Sunday. There could be heavy rain at isolated places in south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema.
Gusty winds at speeds of 40-50 kmph are expected along the coast from Sunday, which could reach 70-90 kmph on Monday. As the system weakens by Monday evening, the wind speed will also come down.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said he had cancelled his visit to Dubai and directed government officials to initiate measures to prevent loss of human life.
Saturday coldest
The minimum temperature dropped to 12.1º Celsius in the city on Saturday, the lowest this season. On December 9, the minimum was 12.9ºC, three notches below the norm for December.
Across the state, too, there was an appreciable fall in the minimum temperature, the lowest being 6ºC in Adilabad. Dry weather will prevail and there will be no effect of Cyclone Vardah in the state, said IMD director Y.K. Reddy.
