Curious Case of Asani: Birth, Evolution, Impact, and Eventual Waning of 2022’s First Cyclonic Storm | The Weather Channel – Articles from The Weather…

Cyclone Asani

This week began on a wet note for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, owing to the formation of Cyclone Asani over the Bay of Bengal. And while most cyclones are wont to cause a lot of devastation, Asani was relatively polite. Despite all the fanfare that accompanied its arrival, Asani left quietly, only bringing heavy rainfall and some respite from summer heat to the states along the East coast and across the southern peninsula.

Still, its journey from an innocuous cyclonic circulation to a full-blown Severe Cyclonic Storm is definitely worth talking about. Below, we dive into the rise and fall of 2022's first cyclone, as reported by the India Meteorological Department (IMD)!

Despite its minimal impact, Asani's journey was far from straightforward. The cyclonic storm saw itself recurving quite a bit, making it rather unpredictable till the last minute. The majority of models predicted a shift in the system's path from northwest to northeast as it approached the coast. However, on May 11, the deep depression (remains of cyclone Asani) drifted slowly northward/northwestwards until dark, then west-southwestwards.

The cyclonic storm was expected to proceed northeastwards near the coast under the influence of a short-amplitude westerly trough in the middle and upper troposphere approaching from the west. Instead, as the storm weakened as it approached the coast, the storm's height reduced, and it was confined to middle tropospheric levels. As a result, the storm's steering wind shifted from southeasterly to northwesterly, causing it to proceed northwestward.

But an anticyclone over peninsular India, northwestward progress was restricted. Therefore, the system moved slowly and stayed almost stationary along the shore, followed by a gradual west-southwestward movement until fading into a well-defined low-pressure area over the region on the morning of May, explains IMD.

Man crosses a road in heavy rains

Around the storm's centre, the maximum sustained wind speed was estimated to be around 30 knots (50-60 kmph) along and off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. On May 11, the high wind speed recorder at IMD, Machilipatnam, recorded a peak wind speed of 30 knots (55 kmph).

As far as rains are concerned, several Andhra, Yanam, Rayalaseema and Odisha districts received more than or equal to 7 cm of rainfall on May 11 and 12.

But the impact of the cyclone was far and wide in terms of rain and temperature. The cyclone-induced clouds hovered over the entire southern peninsula and blocked harsh summer sunshine. Its cooling effects were so strong that the faraway Bengalurus daytime mercury levels down to 24.3C, making May 11 the coldest May day the Karnataka capital has experienced since the year 2000.

Asani's birth began as that of any other cyclone, in the form of a low-pressure area. The LPA formed over the South Andaman Sea and the adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal on May 6. There began its process of intensification.

At first, it moved northwestwards, strengthening into a depression on the afternoon of May 7 and then a deep depression by the evening of the same day. During the early hours of May 8, continuing to move in the same direction, it intensified into a cyclonic storm and a severe cyclonic storm in the same evening.

This rapid intensification helped Asani reach its peak intensity of 55 knots (100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph) early the following day (May 9). It maintained its peak intensity till 10th noon.

Asani, which first de-intensified into a cyclone from a severe cyclone, moved slowly northwards before weakening into a deep depression over the west-central Bay of Bengal near the Andhra Pradesh coast on the evening of May 11.

It then crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Narsapur during the evening hours of May 11 as a severe depression with maximum sustained wind speeds of 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph. It subsequently proceeded slowly west-southwestwards, weakening into a depression early the next morning and a well-defined low-pressure area over coastal Andhra Pradesh the next morning.

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Curious Case of Asani: Birth, Evolution, Impact, and Eventual Waning of 2022's First Cyclonic Storm | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather...