Cyclonic Storm 'Michaung' Reaches The Bay Of Bengal

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, Cyclone "Michaung" passed through southern Andhra Pradesh and northern Tamil Nadu coast and reached west-central Bay of Bengal on 4 December. Thereafter, it will move almost parallel to the north and close to the South Andhra Pradesh coast and hit the South Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam as a severe cyclonic storm by the afternoon of 5 December.

Origin/Centre:

• The pressure area over the south-west Bay of Bengal has transformed into cyclonic storm Michaung.
• The storm lay centered about 260 km east-southeast of Puducherry, 250 km southeast of Chennai, 380 km south-southeast of Nellore, 490 km south-southeast of Bapatla and 500 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam.

Nomenclature:

• Its name "Michaung" is given by Myanmar.
• It means strength or flexibility.

Intensity/Speed:

• Its maximum speed will range from 90-100 kmph to 110 kmph.

Cyclone:

• A cyclone is a rapid circulation of air around a low pressure area. Wind circulation occurs in an anti-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and in a clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Cyclones occur with destructive storm surge and inclement weather.
• The word cyclone is derived from the Greek word cyclos which means coils of a snake. The term was coined by Henry Paddington because tropical storms originating in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea appear like coiled serpents of the sea.

Types of cyclone:

• There are two types of cyclones
• Tropical Cyclones: Tropical cyclones develop in the area between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.
• These types of storms are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific and typhoons in Southeast Asia and China. It is called a tropical cyclone in the south-west Pacific and Indian Ocean regions and willy-willies in north-western Australia.
• The World Meteorological Organization uses the term 'tropical cyclone' to cover weather systems in which winds exceed 'gal force' (minimum 63 km/h).
• Extratropical cyclones: These are also called temperate cyclones or mid-latitude cyclones or tropical cyclones or wave cyclones.
• Extratropical cyclones originate in temperate regions and high latitude regions, although they are known to originate in the polar regions.

Occurrence of cyclone in India:

• India has a biennial cyclone season which is between March to May and October to December but on rare occasions cyclones also occur in the months of June and September.
• Generally, tropical cyclones develop in the North Indian Ocean region (Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea) during pre-monsoon (April to June) and post-monsoon (October to December) periods.
• The months of May–June and October–November are known to produce severe cyclones that affect the Indian coasts.