Widespread heavy rain expected for entire Konkan coast on Wednesday as Cyclone Vayu nears

The weather bureau on Tuesday predicted heavy rain at isolated places along the Konkan coast, including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), for today.

Heavy rainfall warnings combined with gusty winds measuring 70km per hour (kmph) were issued for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. Thundershowers are expected across several locations in central Maharashtra as a result of Cyclone Vayu which is over east-central Arabian Sea.

“The cyclone was less than 400km off Maharashtra’s coastline and is expected to lead to heavy rainfall for Konkan and Goa from late Tuesday night till Wednesday night,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, India Meteorological Department (IMD).

“The cyclone was less than 400km off the Maharashtra coastline and is expected to lead to heavy rainfall for Konkan and Goa from late Tuesday night till Wednesday night,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, India Meteorological Department (IMD). “The cyclone is likely to cause damage thatched houses, roads, trees, crops and other structures along the Gujarat coast on June 13 across Porbandar, Mahuva, around Veraval and Diu region as it develops into a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum wind speed of 135kmph,” he said.

Independent weather experts said Mumbaiites need to remain a safe distance from the seashore due to gusty winds and changing tides. “Tropical Cyclone Vayu is moving almost parallel to the coast of Maharashtra. It will be around 250km away from Mumbai by Wednesday afternoon. The coast, including Mumbai, will witness rain, windy weather, and rough sea conditions,” said Akshay Deoras, meteorologist and PhD researcher at the Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, UK. “The monsoon will immediately progress in coastal Maharashtra within this week,” he said.

MMR recorded thundershowers on Sunday and Monday night, with moderate to heavy rain along the outskirts of Mumbai. However, only scattered light showers were recorded across Mumbai, especially the suburbs, till 8.30pm on Tuesday. Within the city, between 9.30pm on Monday and 8.30am on Tuesday, the Santacruz weather station, representative of the suburbs, recorded 40.2mm rain while Colaba, representative of south Mumbai, recorded 26.2mm. Both rainfall figures fell under the ‘moderate’ category.

During the same time frame, region-wise rainfall levels according to IMD showed the highest rainfall in Malad (115mm) followed by Charkop and Kandivli at 60mm and 50mm respectively, Goregaon at 46mm, Nerul at 40mm, and Andheri at 35mm.