Cyclone Ditwah nearing Tamil Nadu coast as rare Senyar heads to Malaysia
Cyclone Ditwah approaches the Tamil Nadu coast with IMD alerts in place, as rare Cyclone Senyar moves from the Strait of Malacca toward Malaysia
Another cyclonic storm, ‘Ditwah’ has formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal, even as the low-pressure system in the Strait of Malacca, which intensified and became Cyclone ‘Senyar’, moved away from the Indian coast. The cyclone ‘Ditwah’ is expected to make landfall on Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the south Andhra Pradesh coast by November 30, stated the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday (November 27).
‘Ditwah’ lies close to Pottuvil
The IMD further stated that cyclone ‘Ditwah’ formed over the South West Bay of Bengal and lies close to Pottuvil. “Cyclone Ditwah formed over the SW Bay of Bengal near 6.9°N/81.9°E at 1130 IST today. It lay close to Pottuvil, ~90 km SSE of Batticaloa and ~700 km SSE of Chennai. The system will move NNW and reach off North Tamil Nadu–Puducherry–south AP coasts by early 30 Nov,” it stated in a post on X.
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Cyclone ‘Ditwah’ was named by Yemen as per the roster, which lists names of tropical cyclones over the north Indian Ocean. The IMD has issued yellow and orange alerts for several Tamil Nadu districts, including Chennai, Nagapattinam, Thiruvallur, and Thanjavur, for November 27, 28 and 29.
Cyclone Senyar moves away from Indian waters
Meanwhile, Cyclonic storm Senyar developed over the Strait of Malacca, a narrow maritime passage separating Peninsular Malaysia from Indonesia’s Sumatra, with Singapore marking its southeastern edge and its northwestern opening leading into the Andaman Sea.
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Cyclone Senyar has reportedly moved away from Indian waters and is heading toward Malaysia is positioned close to Sumatra. Malaysian media outlet NST, citing MetMalaysia director-general Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip, noted the system’s movement and trajectory.
Cyclone Senyar, a ‘rare’ occurrence
The formation has been described as unusual, with meteorologists characterising Cyclone Senyar as a ‘rare’ occurrence since no storm of this intensity has previously been documented in the Strait of Malacca.
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“The last one, a tropical depression, occurred in 2017 and affected Penang. But for a system to reach tropical storm intensity, as we are now seeing near Sumatra, this is a first,” Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said.
Malaysia issues tropical storm alert
MetMalaysia issued a tropical storm alert after detecting the weather system near latitude 4.5°N and longitude 97.9°E. “It is moving west-southwest at 9kph with maximum sustained winds of 83kph. Its closest point to Malaysia is approximately 284km southwest of George Town, Penang.
“The intensification is expected to bring continuous heavy rain, strong winds and rough seas to several northern states,” the advisory stated.