‘Gulaab Se Jyada, Titli Se Kam’: How Strong is Cyclone Jawad? Here’s What IMD Says About Its Intensity

Cyclone Jawad Latest Update: IMD Director-General Mrutyunjay Mahapatra said Cyclone Jawad is not an extremely severe cyclone as Phani, Hudhud, or Phylin.

Cyclone Jawad Latest Update: The cyclonic storm Jawad, which is likely to reach the coast of north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha by Saturday morning, will witness the wind speed of 90-100 kmph with 90 kmph, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Friday.

Talking about the intensity of the cyclone, the Mrutyunjay Mahapatra said Cyclone Jawad will be more than Gulaab and less than Titli. “Gulaab se jyada, Titli se kam (more than Gulaab and less than Titli),” is how Director-General Mrutyunjay Mahapatra described the intensity of Cyclone Jawad (pronounced as Jowad).

Notably, ‘Jawad’ is a name given by Saudi Arabia and means generous, magnanimous. Cyclone Gulaab, which came in September this year, had maximum wind speeds of 85 kmph while Cyclone Titli of October 2018 had maximum pf 140 kmph wind speeds.

It must be noted that in West Bengal, Cyclone Bulbul two years ago had a wind speed of 120 kmph. Cyclone Jawad, when it reaches the West Bengal coast, will be weakened and the wind speed would be 60-70 kmph, the IMD said.

IMD Director-General Mrutyunjay Mahapatra said Cyclone Jawad is not an extremely severe cyclone as Phani, Hudhud, or Phylin. “As of now, it is a severe cyclonic storm and we are expecting 90-100 kmph wind speed near the coast,” he added.

“A low-pressure area had developed over the Andaman Sea on November 30. It intensified into a depression on December 2 and further into a deep depression on Friday morning. It turned into a cyclone on Friday noon,” the IMD DG said.

He said that very heavy rainfall is likely to start in north coastal Andhra Pradesh and south coastal Odisha by Friday evening. The intensity of rainfall is likely to increase on Saturday, he added.

In the meantime, red alert has been issued for Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts for Saturday. The red colour warning has also been issued for the Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha.

The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over West Bengal on Saturday and Sunday, and heavy rainfall at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura on Sunday and Monday.